The Bride of Ren
by ApprenticeSatine
Summary: Kylo Ren and Rey realize that they are a dyad in the force, and that they are each other's other half. Between the hauntings of the past and the horrors of the present, they must prove that together, anything is possible. Reylo Romance! Rated M for some language and explicit sexual content. Cover image by @panda-capuccino
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Captured and Freed

* * *

It was no use, Rey could neither wriggle free, and her force abilities seemed useless. She needed help, but the only person she had ever been able to speak to through using the force was Kylo Ren. She had hoped, the last time she saw him, that he would have abandoned the dark side and joined her. But he wanted her to leave the resistance and join him. Damn, that seemed like a lifetime ago.

When was the last time their force-bond joined them together? She couldn't remember. Going back through her mind, she tried to think. The first time it happened after their battle at Crait, he just stared at her with hateful eyes and said nothing until her apparition vanished when she closed the hatch. Most of their force visions since resulted in one or both of them merely waiting in silence for the vision to end. Except…for the last time it happened. Rey remembered his words, "You should have taken my hand…stayed with me…ruled with me. Join me, and I'll give you all the answers you've been searching for." She also remembered that she sarcastically asked him if he was enjoying being alone as the Supreme Leader of the First Order because that was all he would ever be—alone.

She hated herself for those words now. More than anything, they both hated being alone, and Rey purposefully rubbed salt in that wound. Would he even care if she was captured? Or would he rejoice in the fact that in a matter of days, she would no longer be around to taunt him?

Seeing no other choice, she calmed her breath and relaxed her mind. Never before had she tried to seek Kylo Ren out of her own volition.

_She saw Kylo Ren standing, clearly gazing at something. _In truth, he was the bridge of his command ship gazing out into the sea of stars._ "Ben," she called out. With that, his head rose suddenly and turned to look at her. He had a new mask, the cracks filled in with red alloy. He was confused by what he was seeing. Why was Rey looking up at the ceiling? Why didn't she look at him? _

_Rey recalled that neither could ever see each other's surroundings, only them. Could he see the machine she was bound to?_

_"Why are you laying like that?" he asked. _

_"I can't move." She replied. "I can't even turn my head to look at you."_

_"What's happened? Where are you?" he asked, now sounding nervous._

_"I don't know. Ben, I'm sorry that I….."_ Zweeeeeeeeeeeee, blue electric pulses filled Rey's mind. It was more than just a shock under her skin. It was as if livewires had been attached to the end of each of her nerves; her body convulsed as the current flowed through her. In only moments, her entire world vibrated into blackness. Kylo Ren felt an emptiness growing within as if someone had just ripped away a piece of his soul.

As the vision of Rey vanished, Kylo Ren made haste to the bridge of his ship, knocking out anyone foolish enough to get in his way. "What intel do we have on resistance attacks not led by us?"

"Sir?"

"The resistance has been attacked, and not by us. I need to know if whoever is out there is likely to be a threat to us."

"At the present time, Supreme Leader" General Hux started, "we are unaware of any attacks on the resistance that were not lead by our fleet.

Turning to one of the operators, Kylo Ren ordered, "open a com-channel, then. I need to speak with a member of the resistance."

"Sir – hacking their frequencies will take hours. Shall I contact,"

"Broadcast a message then," Kylo Ren interrupted. "I just need to make sure they hear it."

"Sir – what is the message?"

"Tell them that I know they have been attacked, and I know their precious scavenger girl is in trouble. I need to know who attacked them. Give them our com-frequency so that they may reply."

Kylo Ren spent the next 42 minutes pacing the floor of his chambers. That stupid girl, where could she be? If only she had stayed with him, then she would have never fallen into harm's way. How inept were those rebels that they allowed her to be captured? And who could be powerful enough to do so? Kylo Ren tried again to clear his mind, calm his breath, and call out to Rey. There was nothing, he could not sense her.

"Sir – we have received a request for a private communication between a leader of the resistance and yourself. Shall I connect you?"

"Do it." Facing the projection, he recognized the man on the other side, Poe Dameron. In a way, he was relieved that it wasn't Leia, but hated that this once former prisoner now stood between him and finding Rey.

"Where's the girl?" Kylo Ren asked immediately.

"You mean she's not with you?!"

"If she were here, I would have no need to talk with you, would I?"

"Dammit! We thought she was with you!" Kylo Ren wondered why the resistance would think that Rey was with him.

"Was she intending to seek me out?"

"No idea, man. We thought that because of what happened," Poe hesitated. "I take it from this communication request you already know what happened."

"I don't know what happened, only that _something_ happened. What was it?"

"I uh…I am not too sure I want to go into detail there."

"Listen, your filthy rebel scum, something happened to her!" voice crescendoed into full-on shouting. "If you, or Leia, or anyone there gives a damn about her, you will tell me what happened, else she dies."

"Woah, geese, okay. Look, last night – Rey went….she wasn't acting like herself. She killed resistance soldiers, destroyed the place, she tried to kill Leia. Then she left, on her own, we have no idea where. We thought maybe you had finally turned her or something. If you're not behind this, how did you know she was missing?"

"Not important. Do you have _any_ idea where she would have gone?"

"None, but it's not like we can go out and look,"

Kylo Ren abruptly ended the transmission. They didn't know where she was, and neither did he. Did she turn? No…no, he would have sensed it if she had. Someone must be manipulating her, someone truly powerful, more powerful than either Kylo Ren or Rey. For fear that he may lose Rey forever, he released his anger by slamming both his fists into the communication wall, shattering the glass screen.

* * *

Rey jolted awake with cold; her body covered itself in goosebumps as she longed for warmth. How long had her mind been dark? She wondered what time it was if it was a day or night. This darkness robbed Rey of her sense and replaced it with paralyzing fear, for she could sense immense power nearby, but could not see an inch in front of her face. Despite not being able to move, her muscles continued to cramp, leaving her to whimper through the pain until they could, on their own accord, relax.

Her mind couldn't quite form the memory of how she wound up in this pitch-black prison. It seemed that she simply had a bad dream, and when she woke, found herself in a nightmare. Screaming out into the darkness, she heard her own voice echo endlessly. In this darkness, time lost its meaning, and she found her entire world was drifting further away.

Time, in what seemed like days, passed. Loneliness ate her alive, swallowing every ounce of hope she had yet to spare. She longed for someone, anyone, to hold her hand, to put a reaffirming touch on her shoulder, to tell her that everything was going to be okay. But in the darkness, there was nothing. And in this hellish prison, her only companion was loneliness, and it continued to taunt.

Trying to calm her mind, she thought back to the time that Kylo Ren had spared her life, instead taking Snoke's. They fought together, and at the end of the battle, he offered her his hand. She could still imagine the desperation in his voice, "join me…._please._" As much as she wanted to take his hand, to be someone important, if only to him. Yet, the light inside wouldn't let her. She could never have joined him, even though he was the only person who ever made her truly feel that she was not alone. She, like Luke, had failed him. If only she had done something more to turn him, he would have been with her. He could have protected her from this. Whispering into the blackness, she cried out, "I'm scared, Ben. I wish I wasn't alone."

_"You're not alone." He replied. Rey's eye shot open, even in the darkness she could see him. His face was unshielded by his mask this time. "Where are you?" he asked._

_"I don't know."_

_"What happened?"_

_"I can't remember." Rey began to gasp for air and clearly looked terrified of whatever was standing over her._

_ "Rey, what is it? Rey?!"_ Zrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee. Kylo Ren could neither see nor understand what was happening to her but was revolted and terrified by the sudden smell of burning flesh. Their force bonded visions were never long, but this, this was mere seconds. What was interrupting them? Calming his mind, Kylo Ren imagined Rey, imagined her before him, imagined her voice, her face, and her touch; all to no avail as he did not yet know how to call out to Rey the way she called out to him. With a variety of scenarios running through his head, each more terrifying than the last, he had no choice but to wait for Rey to reach to him again.

* * *

Rey jolted awake once more, this time by someone touching her.

"Good…you've woken." He spoke slowly and deliberately, a voice that she had never known before. She felt the force, the dark side was so strong in him; it made Snoke look like a child in comparison.

"Why are you doing this to me? Have I done something to you?"

"This, my dear, is training. Training for your mind – the most powerful weapon any Jedi or Sith could ever hope to wield, for, in the darkness, anything is possible. No sight gives your imagination free rein to run wild. You are already driven by fear. Every noise is the same as a blaster shot in the night, and your mind and heart both leap. But in that darkness, you will find power. And that power will earn you your freedom."

Her captor's voice had faded. Rey was once again alone. Even though this prison was dark, Rey still closed her eyes to image Kylo Ren once more. This time, it was not just a memory that raced her through her head, but a fantasy. Once in which he offered her his hand, and this time, she placed her own in his. What would he have done? Pulled her into an intimate embrace? She tried to imagine it, the warmth and peace that she felt when they touched hands. That is what she imaged his embrace would feel like. As she stepped back to look at him, the image was wrong. He was sad…he was crying…. did Kylo Ren even know how to cry?

_Kylo Ren glanced up as he pushed the tears from his eyes, but more continued to flow._

_"Rey….I can't see where you are. Tell me where you are. Please." _

_"I don't know."_

_"Can you see anything?" he sunk to his knees beside her._

_"Dark." She whispered. "Ben….I don't think I'm going to live much longer." Rey's breaths were shallow and quick, she was sobbing too. "I had hoped through all this, I'd turn out to be important in this story. To mean something in the galaxy. But I was wrong, I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing."_

_"Don't say that. Don't you **ever** say that! You're not nothing, not to me." Kylo Ren focused his thoughts and placed his fingertips on top of her hand. He could feel her icy skin, he could sense her fear and her pain, he could sense her life force was running thin. "I'm coming for you, I promise." _

His gentle touch ended with a jolt of lightning that burned the edges of his fingertips and knocked him backward in shock. Staring down at his hand, he made the connection while seething with anger. Rey was being electrocuted, that was why their force bond was continuously getting interrupted. Whoever was doing this to Rey would pay with their life.

It had been nearly 18 hours since Rey first spoke to him. She was clearly being tortured, and he couldn't help her. He had to find her, and soon. For now, his goal was to not blow his own command ship to pieces with all the hate build up inside of him. To calm his mind, he tried to relieve the memory of just moments ago, where he was able to connect with Rey by touching her through the force. He could see the curve of her face so clearly, the tears in her eyes, the burned skin and scaring around her temples, but not her surroundings.

* * *

How many hours had it been? Or was it days? She couldn't remember. Perhaps there was now some trace of light in her prison…or maybe she had been in the darkness for so long that her eyes finally adjusted. She thought it was odd, all of these funny metal rounds poking out from the walls, whose layers climbed the walls up to the sky. That dark presence was near her once more.

"What are they?" she asked.

"Relics, my dear. Relics of a past long forgotten. But now, we must look ahead to the future. A new order will reign, my final order. And you, my dear, will be the key to this new future."

"Well, your final order has to first contend with the current order, or do they all work for you already? And I'm not the key to anything. I'm just a scavenger girl, I am not anyone important."

"Is that what Kylo Ren tells you?"

Rey froze, figuratively anyway, her body was already bound so tightly she couldn't move an inch. This person, this creature, was so strong with the force – surely they must already know of her connection with Kylo Ren.

"I doubt Kylo Ren would ask a silly scavenger girl to rule beside him if he didn't think she was someone very important and powerful. Yes….I know you've been speaking to him….and I allowed it. Just long enough for him to catch a glimpse at your predicament before I snatch it away from him. Heh heh heh. His hate is growing, ever-growing stronger. Soon, I'll allow you to tell him where we are, and he will come for you, and that is when, my dear, you will prove yourself worthy and kill him, or he will prove that he truly is the strongest wielder of the force in the galaxy and end you. In fact, I think it is time," he continued. "Do it, call out to him again and tell him where we are."

"I won't!" Rey closed her eyes only to feel the rush of electricity through her body once more. Each time it seemed longer than the last until; eventually, Rey was choking on her own blood coming out of her mouth, unable to turn her head she tried to spit it into the air with all her strength.

"Call out to him." The man ordered. Rey didn't have the strength, even if she wanted to. Whether it was her subconscious, the force itself, or another being, Rey found herself joined to him anyway. Kylo Ren was standing over a map of the galaxy – he had every troop on every planet looking for the girl. He sensed Rey and lifted his head to see her, horrified by the sight.

"Rey." He said, desperately moving towards her until he stood by her side, looking down at her. Her face was covered in blood. Who was doing this?

"Young apprentice, she's been waiting for you." The voice called out. "You'd better hurry, I don't know how much longer she will last."

Kylo Ren held Rey's hand in his own. "Who are you?" he asked angrily.

"Come to the place where your grandmother once fought for democracy. Before your noble grandfather, Darth Vader saw what had to be done to truly bring order to the galaxy." Kylo Ren knew immediately where they were.

"I'm coming, Rey." He reached over to touch Rey's face, only to have the vision vanished, leaving his leather glove stained with her blood.

* * *

"Ahhh, I see we have a guest." The voice echoed with delight. "Ah, Kylo Ren, commander of the Knights of Ren, and apprentice to Lord Snoke."

"Ben…" Rey gasped, hardly believing it.

Though his helmet had all the latest tech for seeing in low light, Kylo Ren still felt foolish fumbling around the dark. He wasn't able to see any heat sources, no signs of life, and around every corner was more of the same—nothing.

Upon entering the main chamber of the senate, he saw the faintest heat signature opposite him, and in his rush towards it, found the tiles of the floor beneath him beginning to rise. Keeping his saber after at the ready, he felt the swarm of power in the air. Whoever this was, they were much stronger than Snoke.

"So nice of you to join us, boy." The voice continued. "I can feel the darkness and hatred inside you. Snoke was a fool to underestimate you, but I will make no such mistake. I know you've come for the girl."

"I killed Snoke, I'll kill you unless you hand the girl over to me." Kylo Ren sounded calm and composed.

"Now, why would I do that?"

"Because I'll kill you if you don't." Kylo Ren continued to spin about looking for the source of this voice, which seemed to be coming from everywhere. Ren could see the red glow his saber floating the darkness above her. "Ben!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the chamber.

"Quiet!" the voice boomed, annoyed, and the bright flashes of blue and white illuminated the floor of the chamber as Kylo Ren, finally able to see Rey clearly, felt the contents of his stomach rise as the sight of electricity entering her every limb. He tried to jump off the floating ledge but was knocked back with the force.

"Enough!" Kylo Ren shouted. The flashes below him ceased, and once more, everything below was shrouded in darkness.

"Foolish boy – you have no idea the power I wield over you."

"What do you want?" he asked in desperation.

"I want you, my dear apprentice, to continue your training. Stop acting like a spoiled child, and become a true master of the force, and I shall give you what Snoke never could."

"You'll die first. I, serve, no one." Kylo Ren said deliberately.

The voice laughed. "My dear boy, you have been serving me since your birth. I have been every voice you have ever heard in your head!" Kylo Ren could have sworn he heard the voice of Snoke, of Darth Vader, and finally, of a voice that he had heard before, one that used to haunt his dreams before Snoke found him.

"Palpatine…" he realized. "That's not possible, you died at the hands of Darth Vader."

"I've died before. The dark side is ripe with power….power that some may find…unnatural." In front of Kylo Ren stood what looked like a corpse of the old emperor. Tubes and needles covered his body, all of which connected to machinery pumping liquids and hissing fumes. "Join me, and I will give you what Snoke never could."

"What could you possibly offer me that warrants sparing your life, if that is what you call your current state?"

"Everything." He replied. Connecting with Kylo Ren through the force, Palpatine showed him visions of the Final Order Fleet, of Kylo Ren defeating his enemies in battle, and of him seated on a black throne before all the sith long past. "All I ask is your absolute loyalty. A demonstration, if you will."

Kylo Ren walked toward the unnatural being, pulling his lightsaber from his belt. Down on one knee, he offered his lightsaber to Palpatine. Using the force, Palpatine pulled the lightsaber to himself and seemed ecstatic when he unleashed its red glow.

"A good apprentice must be subservient." Palpatine grinned, and with a wave of his hand, a sith or perhaps a ghost approached Kylo Ren and ran his blade across the dark Jedi's back. He let out a moan at the pain but remained ever still. A kick to his gut and then to his shoulder knocked him on the ground. Not once did he raise his hands to fight back.

"Ben…." Rey cried out softly, barely conscious. What was he doing? Did he really hope to kill Palpatine, or was he truly interested in becoming a sith apprentice once more? What would happen to her, she wondered.

"Take off your mask," Palpatine ordered. Back on his knees, Kylo Ren removed his mask and offered it to one of the sith ghosts. The guard immediately backhanded Kylo Ren across the face with his own mask, leaving his face bloody. "Good…your hate is consuming you; I feel darkness in you the likes of which haven't been seen in this galaxy for centuries."

"Give me the girl, and I will strike her down as proof of my loyalty." Ren spat blood as he spoke.

"Do you take me for a fool, boy? No…I think a much better display of loyalty will be to watch your precious scavenger girl meet her end." Palpatine ignited the red lightsaber and descended to the floor with the floated ledge holding Kylo Ren following suit. Palpatine held out the blade to Rey's throat, and she could feel its heat on her skin.

"If you kill me….he will kill you." Rey pleaded.

"That, my dear, is exactly the idea…" Palpatine raised his hand to strike before the walls of the cavern seemed to shake. With a loud and forceful scream, Kylo slammed both his fists to the floor of the senate chamber and released a force wave so powerful that all the ghosts were knocked out of existence, though Palpatine himself seemed unaffected. Not letting himself be fooled again after what happened on Crait, he knew at that moment that Palpatine wasn't actually here, he was only a force projection.

Kylo Ren raised his hand, and concentrating all his strength at his own lightsaber used the force to push Palpatine away from Rey before he could strike. Palpatine may have been a projection, but the lightsaber was as real as Kylo Ren himself. In realizing that he had lost control of the weapon, Palpatine discarded the lightsaber, shooting it, blade first, toward Rey, only to have Kylo Ren pull it to himself.

"We're not finished yet," Palpatine smirked before flicking his wrist to reactivate the electric shock. Rey's mind sizzled in the blue volts, and her entire body pulsated with pain. It was only seconds but felt like an eternity before Kylo Ren destroyed the machine that powered those electric pulses. Rey's body still bounced uncontrollably on the table beneath her restraints. The mix of blood, burning flesh, and smoke filled the Senate Chamber.

Kylo Ren said nothing, a slash of his crossguard cut the metal restraint on her head away and turned her face toward his. Rey couldn't form thoughts, let alone words. Everything was a blur, though she thought that she could hear Kylo Ren's voice echoing her name. Cutting away all her restraints, he found the parts of her wrists and ankles that were not burned were rubbed raw.

Lifting her shoulders to pull her body toward him, he looked for any sign of life of her eyes, in her pulse, in her breath, and found her so weak that she would surely die within minutes. Even in the darkness, he could sense her life fading away. In her final moments, he held her close, wrapping his cloak around her, he cried, "I'm sorry, Rey."

_"Save her." _ A voice in his head called out, that of Luke Skywalker. _"Save her and save yourself."_

_"I don't know how!" _

_"Yes, you do. It takes light and sacrifice and selflessness to give life. If you want to save her, give of yourself to her." _The voice faded.

Trying to control his emotion, he placed his hand on her heart and began to concentrate. The power needed was incredible, and he felt himself grow dizzy. As she inhaled deeply, her heart beat to life as Kylo Ren passed out from his efforts and collapsed overtop of her.

In her dreams, Rey felt Kylo Ren's power in her bones, she felt his hatred for the galaxy, his distress that he would never live to be as great as Darth Vader, the haunting in his soul from killing Han, and finally fear. Raw, untamed, and unmatched fear that losing Rey would forever damn him to being the one thing he was most afraid of…alone.

As Kylo Ren recovered consciousness, he quickly lifted Rey to him once more and was relieved at the sound of her breathing. Picking her up as gently as he was able, Kylo Ren carried Rey from the Galactic Senate Chamber back to his Silencer before putting out a secure message to his Knights of Ren. "Palatine lives and he must be destroyed. Find out where he's hiding. And hell Hux to broadcast a message across the galaxy, let them all know that the dead still seem to speak."


	2. Chapter 2

Bitter and Sweet

* * *

Four days later….

When Rey's eyes finally opened, the very ceiling seemed to spin. Her head still pounded, and upon sitting up, realized, based on the stark contrast of black and white walls and furniture, she was clearly within the hands of the First Order. Was Rey being held as Kylo Ren's prisoner once more? Running through her mind, she tried to piece together what had happened. She remembered Kylo Ren arriving, that final electric shock, and feeling every fear and insecurity that he possessed.

Looking around the room, it felt far more like the quarters of a high ranking officer rather than that of a prison cell. Easing her feet onto the cold metal floor, she took inventory of her body, and peeking out from beneath the cuff of her sleeve was a bandage. Tearing it away revealed scaring on her wrist that twisted and spralled. Despite her wound being closed, just looking at it somehow made her uneasy; it reminded her of the pain of that electricity jumping throughout her body. Deciding it was best not to mess with her bandages any further, she stood, slowly at first, until she felt her balance kick in before deciding which of the three doors in the room would be most likely to lead to a bathroom.

There was a door at the top of three stairs, not likely, it was probably the door to the hallway and judging from the glowing red light on the side panel, locked. Even if Rey wanted to escape, she recognized that she was in no state to do so right now. Even mediocre Stormtroopers would likely be able to take her down. The door closest to her was, in fact, a set of doors, and didn't appear electric at all. Pulling on the handles, she opened what seemed to be a large closet. There was a drawer of black short-sleeved shirts, a drawer of black long-sleeved shirts, black pants, black sleeping shirts, and black socks. "Now you, I can use," She said, pulling out a pair of black socks to cover her freezing feet before kicking that drawer shut, and decided that she didn't even need to open the last three drawers, for it was probably more of the same. Rey almost laughed at the thought of everything seriously being black, and at how large the socks were on her feet. There was also a spot, currently empty, for an officer's uniform to hang, and a full-length mirror that she couldn't bear to look in just yet.

Giving the final door a try, she was had found the bathroom that she sought. This room had a large mirror as well, and Rey was forced to confront the long black steri strips that ran along her temples. Pulling on one gently, revealed more scaring underneath, and Rey instantly regretted removing the strip as her knuckles turned white with the grip she held on the sink. Taking a deep breath, Rey traced the outline with the pad of her finger, feeling the rise of the reddish-pink tree-like roots sprawling in every direction atop white skin. Trying to place the black medical strip back over her temple, it fell into the sink, having lost its stick.

After several failed attempts to unlock the main door, Rey tried to explore the rest of the room. There were so many apparent drawers and hatches, but none of which had corresponding buttons to open them. The COM system in the room seemed to be internal only. Rey could easily hack it, though she would only be able to reach other channels in the ship, making the entire effort a tad pointless.

Giving up, at least for now, she went back to rest on the black sofa that sat in the middle of the open room. It may have looked padded, but was so miserably firm that Rey nearly preferred to sit on the floor. Curiously, next to the couch was a folded blanket and a pillow. Taking comfort in any way she could get, she snuggled beneath the white "standard issue" blanket that was so incredibly coarse and threadbare she no sooner kicked those scratchy fibers down to her feet. Why did everything in the First Order have to be so terrible? Course rough black clothes, threadbare blankets, deceivingly difficult couches, and stark white fluorescent lighting with its accompanying constant and annoying electric hum, for which Rey could find no way to turn off. No wonder these people were so miserable all the time. The pillow was no better, it was so soft it compressed to flatness at her lightest touch. It was in pushing on the pillow that she realized something—it contained the most intoxicating smell, that of Kylo Ren.

Quickly retrieving the blanket, it too carried his scent, though not nearly as strong as the pillow, but there nonetheless. Kylo Ren had been there, and that very thought brought Rey comfort. She wondered how often had he come to check on her while she was unconscious. How long he stayed when he did, though, clearly, at least long enough to take a nap. Kylo Ren was never known for making himself vulnerable. Had Rey awoken while he slept, she could have killed him easily if she wanted. Giving up his own bed in favor of being close to Rey continued to stir warm emotions in her soul. Rey wondered what poor officer had been dismissed from their quarters to accommodate her arrival. Though, knowing how possessive Kylo Ren was, she wouldn't put it past him to keep her in his own…

Darting back to the closet, she pulled out a pair of sleeping pants and checking the length against herself noticed a good half-foot of extra material. Carefully folding them to put them away, Rey accidentally bumped into the mirror. The mirror was apparently on a hinge and popped open ever so slightly. Swinging open the mirror revealing a small room containing a single pedestal, on which sat the deformed remains of the mask of Darth Vader. This place was, in fact, Kylo Ren's private chambers.

Rey focused on her breath as she meditated. She focused on each of her emotions, trying her best to allow her hatred for Palpatine to be released from her body, to be an open vessel that the force could fill. However, she found herself only wanting revenge on that monster for what he had done to her. In his presence, there was only darkness and evil, no redeeming light. Such a creature had to be destroyed for the greater good. She also thought of Ben Solo, and subconsciously began to smile at the image of him. She cared for him, of course, but there was something more, a feeling Rey didn't quite know how to place. Even after Snoke's death, even when Rey couldn't dare bring herself to speak to Kylo Ren, she had sometimes secretly wished for the force to join them, just so that she could see his face. Master Luke would, of course, say that these emotions, that any emotions, were inappropriate for a Jedi. Rey recited the words over and over, as best as she could remember them, though no amount of repetition thus far made her believe them. "No emotion, only peace; no ignorance, infinite knowledge; no passion, serenity; no chaos, no death, only the Force."

Beneath the stairs, a small hatched hissed open, Rey tensed for only a second, before realizing it was only a medical droid.

Zipping over to her, a blue light scanned her face. "Bandage removal not recommended." It beeped.

"Sorry, I wanted to see how bad it was. Can you fix it?"

The droid sprayed a clear solution over the wound, which stung before using its pronged hands to place a new black steri strip over her temple. The droid changed each of her bandages, read her vital signs, and updated its patient recovery log.

"By the way, can you tell me where we are? Is this a First Order ship? Is Klyo Ren aboard?"

"My directive is to treat wounded patients. I have no knowledge of other systems."

"But this is a First Order ship, right?"

"My directive is to treat wounded patients. I have no knowledge of other systems."

"I guess you can't really help me then." She said as it zipped away, exiting the room from the same hatch under the stairs which it came.

No sooner had the droid departed that the main door hissed open, and Kylo Ren finally appeared. As Rey rose from the couch, he removed his helmet, a curtesy he always showed in their shared force visions since the day he had his mask rebuilt with red alloy. He had clearly just returned from some battle; his hair was greased with sweat and clothes covered with dirt. He moved towards her and in one fluid motion, dropped his helmet on the couch and enclosed her in his arms. His embrace, protective yet still gentle, made the room feel warmer, and her heart beat slower. Even though Rey kept her arms at her side, all the pain of the past few days seemed to dissolve as she listened to the rhythm of his breath and breathed in his smell. Soon, her shoulders dropped, her brow relaxed, and leaning her head on his heart wished that they could have arrived at this moment the day he killed Snoke, and not now, months later. So much pain could have been spared.

Kylo Ren broke their silence first. "How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"A couple of hours. How long have I been here?"

"I brought you here four days ago."

"Why here? Why to your chambers?"

"You went to the medical bay first. But, you were tossing around like crazy, they were ready to strap you down to the table. I didn't want you to wake up to that…to be afraid…I didn't want you to feel like a prisoner again. Whenever I was with you, you were…calmer in a way, I had you brought here because I thought it might help you feel safe, both while you slept and when you woke up."

Allowing her arms to return his embrace, Rey relished in the warmth growing in her. She didn't care at all that he smelled of the battlefield, that his brow glistened with sweat, nor that her clean sleeping clothes were undoubtedly filthy now. She wanted to be present, in this moment, with him. Taking a step back, he touched his leather glove to her cheek, drawing her gaze to his. "I'm exhausted. I need a shower and some sleep, but after that, I want to know everything."

"Everything?"

"How you were captured, how you destroyed the resistance base, how you connected us through the force,"

"Woah! Hold on a minute!" Rey interrupted. "Destroyed the resistance base?"

"Yeah, Poe Dameron said you blew the place to hell. Saved me a lot of trouble trying to snuff them out."

"What? I would never! Why would you say something like that?!" she shoved him away. The last thing she could remember before being captured was just running her training course, the same she had done any other day. She remembered feeling increasingly "off," but just assumed that it was because she was tired and in pain over Kylo Ren's stubborn pride that he would not return to the light. She had no memory of even leaving the resistance base, let alone destroying it. "Palpatine, it must have been Palpatine. We have to go, we have to go there and help!"

"Rey – that was nearly a week ago. With any luck, anyone who did make it out of there alive has scattered to the wind."

"Ben, your mother was at that base! We have to…" she started to sob. "We have to do something!"

Pulling her back into his arms, Rey struggled to resist, but in her weakened state was no match for his strength. Kylo Ren ran his arm up and down Rey's back as he tried to calm her. "My parents died a long time ago Rey. So did yours. Han, Luke, Leia none of them are ever going to fill the void your parents left. Stop searching for them. Let it go, or your obsession is only going to keep causing you pain."

"My obsession?" she sniffled this time, succeeding in pushing him away. "What about yours? Your crazy obsession with Darth Vader, with ruling the entire galaxy, with killing everyone who has ever given a damn about you!" her voice had elevated to shouting.

"Are you serious, I mean, are you really fucking serious?!" he shouted back. "My parents gave me to Skywalker, Skywalker tried to kill me, and until his last breath, Han Solo died defending that man! My mother, my own mother, forgive her brother in an instant for trying to murder her son! My parents never gave a damn about me! Skywalker never gave a damn about me! So forgive me if I don't exactly give a shit about them!"

Rey's core flooded with emotion. She had hoped, had wanted, to be reunited with Ben Solo, but instead had found herself in the presence of the sith that Snoke had so perfectly crafted. Nothing about him had changed. As much as she wanted to fight for Ben's soul, to pull him back to the light so that he could be free of his pain, and she, wholeheartedly, could latch onto him, she could not risk the pain and temptations that came with being near Kylo Ren. If there was no hope of turning him back to the light side of the force, then Kylo Ren, much like Snoke and Palpatine, had to be killed. Else, he would destroy the galaxy. If Rey did not stop him, the destruction, the split blood, would be just as much on her hands. Still, as easy as it would have been for her to kill Snoke or Palpatine, she never wanted to actually be the one to end Kylo Ren's life, for she predicted that the guilt of such an act would be too much for her. In the last few months, she felt it best to let Kylo Ren dig his own grave and hoped that some other resistance pilot would shoot him down for her.

"Thank you for saving me, truly, but I can't stay here with you. I'm going back to the resistance base." She turned her back to Kylo Ren, heading for the main door.

"Rey, I'm not letting you leave." At those words, Rey stopped dead in her tracks before pivoting around.

"_Letting_ me?" Rey seethed. "I'm not one of your mindless soldiers that you can just order around!"

"I am the Supreme Leader of the First Order, you are aboard _my_ command ship. Which, by the way, I brought you to after I fucking saved you!"

"I thanked you for that! What more do you want?!" her body tensed, ready to fight him if need be.

"Right now?! Right now, I want you to calm the fuck down so I can get some fucking sleep! But more than that, Rey, you! I want you! I want you to join me, to lead with me, and to be mine. And not because I am forcing you to, but because deep down we both know it's what you really want. I've been in your head Rey, I know all of your hopes and your fears and your desires. And you know them too, but for some fucking reason, you won't ever admit any of them! You wanted to take my hand Rey, I saw it when I touched your freezing hand. You thought you were going to die. And, only then,_ only then_, were able to admit, even in your own head, that you wanted to. These last few months, you wanted to take it all back, to have stayed with me."

Rey's voice shook beneath her sobs. "I never wanted your hand. I wanted to take Ben's hand. But he's gone. I don't want to be with you. I want _nothing_ to do with you! I hate you! I hate you for all of it!" she screamed. Rey felt a surge of power in her bones before she realized she could no longer feel her body. It was as if her every muscle had gone numb and yet her feet were taking steps that her brain had not commanded.

_"My dear child, you had hoped that this man was the key to saving you from your loneliness, but you were wrong. He will bring you only pain. He will bring destruction to the entire galaxy. Kill him now, end the pain and turmoil he has over you, protect the galaxy. Remind him that you are stronger than him and that you answer to no one."_

Her eyes glowed red, and with a raise of her hand, had used the force to pull Kylo Ren's lightsaber clean off his belt and to her waiting fingers. Within an instant, the blade ignited as she thrust it toward him. Even in his weary state, he dodged all of her strikes. They had fought each other before, but Kylo Ren always sensed her hesitation to actually hurt him, but not now. As he sensed her intentions, the only image in her head was that of his body on the floor, hacked to pieces. He spun his foot between Rey's feet, knocking her down.

As she sprung upright once more, Kylo Ren noticed that something was amiss. This was not the way Rey moved in hand-to-hand combat. This was not her footwork nor her typical technique. Rey was small, she always struck upwards towards her enemy, why now was try always trying to strike down? These moves were for someone taller and with twice her physicality.

Charging towards him again, with rage spewing from the depths of her throat, Kylo Ren felt Rey's power swell. She was utterly consumed by the dark side now, but not in the way that he had always desired. He had only ever wanted to help her, to help rid her of her pain and her loneliness, to help her learn to control her powers, and most recently, to help her embrace her passion and desire for him. Usually, her soul was flooded with all of these thoughts, but now, there was only one….hatred.

As she shot by him, he grabbed her wrist and swung her around into a hold, clutching her fighting arm behind her back. He probed her mind and saw that her fears had been exaggerated with false images placed in her head. But not just her fears…Kylo Ren's as well. When he had transferred some of his life force to her, he allowed her to know his deepest terrors. Now, both their fears led to her anger, her hanger to hate, and in her hatred, she suffered. Hatred for Kylo Ren for depriving Rey of the future she sought, one where they could be together in the light. Where she had saved his soul from the dark side, and he had saved her from ever lingering isolation. In her mind, she was still so alone, mistakenly believing that the only reason Kylo Ren saved her from Palpatine was to use her power for his own agenda. In her twisted thoughts, the second Rey was no longer useful, he would casually discard her the way he had Snoke. These thoughts were not hers, just as her mind was not hers.

Kylo Ren recognized his own thoughts being manipulated as he imagined himself striking Rey down and, in doing so, was finally free of all the suffering he had ever felt. He released his connection to Rey, shaking the hallucination from his mind. He had felt this presence before when he received a blast of electric shock from Rey's frozen hand while she was still captive—Palpatine!

"Rey—what you see in your head, it isn't real! He's manipulating you, the way Snoke manipulated me. Fight him, Rey!"

_"Heh, heh, heh, foolish boy. She can't hear you. She will strike you down unless you kill her first." _Palpatine's voice seemed to reverberate throughout the room.

Biting down on Kylo Ren's arm, Rey managed to stun him just long enough to break free of his grasp before knocking him to the floor with the force. Pulling his ignited saber to her hand once more, she launched at him only to have her body move unexpectedly as Kylo Ren used his own power to pull her body down on top of his own. Rolling over her, he locked her hands to the floor with his own and heard words, her own words, blaring in her skull.

_I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! I'm nothing, and I'll die as nothing! Nothing! NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING!_

Staring into her eyes, Kylo Ren tried again to reach the scavenger girl buried deep beneath this puppet.

"Remember what I told you, Rey. You're not nothing, not to me. When we fought in the forest, I offered to teach you the ways of the force. I spent years driving everyone out of my life, but I wanted to invite you in. The more the force connected us, the more we both saw that we are one and the same. We share pain, Rey, and we both want to save each other from it. The day we touched hands, you came for me, to save me from Snoke. Just as I came for you when you called out to me." She clenched her eyes shut, turning away from him. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I'll _always_ come for you, Rey. You don't have to fight him alone, I'm here with you. I'll _always_ be here with you." With those words, Kylo Ren placed a tender kiss on her cheek.

Deep in the recesses of Rey's mind, the warmth that grew whenever she was near Ben began to spark. Sensing her resistance building, Palpatine tried harder to keep control of her mind. _"He lies! He didn't come to save your life, he came to claim my power. He keeps you locked away in his own private chambers so that he may better control yours. He promises you love, but still knows you to be the bemired daughter of filthy junk traders. He will not allow his noble bloodline to be tarnished with such trash. Don't give in to this deception, kill him now!" _

Her agitated body fought Palpatine's possession and convulsed wildly beneath Kylo Ren's grasp as he struggled to keep her pinned to the floor. "It's not real, Rey; you know it's not real. I knew you were the scavenger daughter of junk traders. I knew before I ever offered you my hand. I don't care about your past, I told you to let it die, just as I had let mine die. I care about you, Rey, more than I have cared for any other person in my entire life. I wasn't going to let Snoke kill you, I won't let Palpatine either." He released one of her wrists in order to probe her mind once more. Though she repeatedly struck him, he concentrated on executing a mind trick of his own. _He remembered the peace in his soul at the moment he touched Rey's hand for the first time; the fear in his mind at the thought of losing her as he held her dying body in his arms; the longing in his heart for her to take his hand; the relief in his eyes at the sight of Rey, alive and awake standing before him just minutes ago; the sacrifice he made to give some of his life to save her._

Gasping in all the air her lungs would allow, Rey cleaved to Kylo Ren's visions. With love blossoming in her heart, providing her strength, she released from her hate; and with it, Palpatine's control on her mind. Ben Solo was not gone, not entirely. Pieces of him still existed in Kylo Ren and were brought out in Rey's presence. So long a she remained with him, there was light in him, there was hope in him, which in turn brought Rey hope. The red in her eyes dissolved into bloody tears, leaving rusty streaks down her cheeks as they fell to the floor. With a final sob, she told Kylo Ren that he was hurting her. Sensing that she was, in fact, Rey once more, he released her wrist and collapsed to the floor as he rolled beside her, keeping his eyes affixed on her. Turning her body toward him, Rey pressed herself along his body and took his hand, enclosing it in both her own, keeping it safely tucked into her chest. It was mere minutes before exhaustion overtook, and with the quiet calm in their souls of knowing the other was there, they gave in to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Because everything in Star Wars seems to happen so incredibly fast, I wanted to make a little bit of space for Kylo Ren and Rey to just be with each other; without a battle, or heightened tension, or any interruptions. I hope you enjoy what is undoubtedly the calmest chapter in the story I've got planned.**

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Chapter 3: Green and Red

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Rey rested her face on her knees, keeping herself curled in a tight ball on the couch. It was partially for warmth, but also partially because she was trying to combat feeling utterly vulnerable. It wasn't that she regretted staying so close to Kylo Ren and clutching his hand after having successfully driven Palpatine from her mind. Rey wanted to be close to him, and not as two friends are close, but in a way that she had never felt before with anyone else. She cared for friends, of course, but not in the same way she cared for that dark Jedi. She took comfort in the presence of her friends, but they did not calm her the way Kylo Ren could. They didn't understand her pain, her loneliness, and her fears the way he did. And of course, she didn't lay awake at night imagining their embrace and the touch of their hands. That was the thought that scared her the most; this thought, like so many others, she strived to push to the back of her mind, hoping that by not acknowledging it, it would cease to exist. After all, it was really Ben Solo for whom Rey's affection was reserved. Kylo Ren, on the other hand, only seemed to cause Rey pain. How miserable that the two were so entangled in one man.

Kylo Ren had emerged from the bathroom amidst a cloud of steam, freshly showered, and in sleeping clothes. Even though he remained dressed in black, his appearance seemed, softer, somehow. Perhaps it was because his shirt was short-sleeved, and his heavy black boots had dissolved away to bare feet. In his uniform, he looked sinister (as was probably his intention); but like this, he no longer carried the air of a sith and Supreme Leader. Rey felt inherently more comfortable with him like this. Throwing himself back onto the couch, he stretched his arms above his head and let out a yawn. Despite their "nap," they were both still clearly exhausted. The other thing they both were was hungry.

Rey peered out from her ball as her stomach started to gurgle with hunger. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten, and while ration portions were never known for being particularly tasty, her half-starved body craved any sustenance she could get. Her stomach grumbled again, this time loud enough for Kylo Ren to hear and glance over to her.

_Ding!_ A button on the wall shined green before a panel swooshed open, revealing two covered trays. Finally-food! Kylo Ren stretched once more, before standing and groaned as he rolled his head from side to side, stretching his neck. He pressed an area of the wall near the dumbwaiter, which beeped and glowed red. The floor panel in front of the couch split in half, revealing a table beneath, which rose in front of Rey. It made sense that high ranking offers would likely dine in their rooms rather than a mess hall. Mingling with stormtroopers, making small talk, neither were things Rey could picture this man doing. In fact, such situations would probably serve as effective torture for him. He slid the bottom tray in front of Rey before unveiling his own and proceeding to eat in silence.

Staring at the food in front of her, it seemed like it started simple enough and yet…somehow…someone figured out a way to utterly destroy it. It was a bowl of rice, topped with an egg that looked like it had been cooked way too long, and mixed with leafy veggies that may once have been green but now looked brownish-grey. There was also a small clear cup that had some type of red liquid in it. Looking over at Kylo Ren's bowl, he didn't seem to fare any better, except that his drink was green. Rey knew hunger in her life on Jakku. There had been periods, more than she cared to remember, where going days on a half-portion of bread was normal. But still, portion bread had virtually no flavor, whereas this, this just looked gross. After another minute of staring, debating, more staring, and more debating, Rey settled on deciding to taste her meal after her stomach released its loudest rumble yet. She found her suspicions confirmed, it was _terrible_! It felt almost sulfuric on her tongue and had a mushy texture. _Bleh! _

Glancing over at him, she asked, "Does all the food on this ship taste like this?" He seemed unaffected by the mush he was putting in his mouth.

"No. If you can believe it, some of it tastes worse. Let's just say the first order isn't exactly known for their culinary excellence."

Rey took another bite and decided that she needed to be done. Even though she was starving, she couldn't stomach whatever this was. In the time it had taken her to eat two bites, Kylo Ren had completely consumed his own portion and tossed his empty bowl on the table. "How can you possibly eat that?" Rey asked.

"It's either eat this or go hungry. Besides, you get numb to the taste after a while. He had started to drink his cup of green liquid before adding, "you should at least drink your nutrient solution."

"Nutrient….solution?"

"The red stuff. It a mix of everything your body needs to function properly, but it doesn't really satiate hunger. And just in case you thought there was any hope that it will taste better than the food, I want to break it to you gently, it doesn't." Exhaling a deep sigh, Rey decided to try and down it quickly, but only managed to finish half. It tasted like a terrible combination of salt and medicine. Rey scraped her tongue between her teeth as her shoulder raised and body shivered to try and shake off the taste.

"Terrible food, terrible drinks, terrible blankets, everything is black, you get no sleep with all those lights and alarms going off, now I know why all you first order lot are so angry all the time. You're walking around overtired and starving." Then, Kylo Ren did something Rey had never seen him do before, he smiled, as if he were amused by what she had said. It was small and fleeted quickly, but Rey saw it nonetheless.

"Here," he said, holding out his half-drunk green juice to her. "I don't know why, but the green one tastes the best."

"If you are tricking me, and this one tastes even worse, I'm going to…." She hesitated, realizing that she had nothing with which to end her threat.

"You'll what?" he teased.

"I'll think of something." She quipped back. Taking another deep breath, she touched the liquid to her lips. Surprisingly, the green one went down easily. He was right, it was significantly better than the salty red medicine they had given her.

Once again, Kylo Ren wasn't phased in the slightest as he finished off her disgusting red nutrient solution. Tossing his empty cup on the table, he glanced at her barely touched bowl. She had to be starving; it had been days at least since she last ate. He wished he had something else to give her to eat, but he knew any food from the mess hall would be just as bad at this, or worse. Though maybe…

Over by his bed, he pulled open a drawer revealing a small brown canvas bag containing his last pear. Perhaps it was in his blood, but pears from Naboo were Kylo Ren's most favorite treat. Although he himself had not been to that planet in years, he paid handsomely for pears from random traders throughout the mid rim.

"Here." He said, handing her the fruit. "It's a pear from Naboo."

"I've never had one before."

"They taste better than anything in the galaxy. I get them whenever I can, which isn't nearly often enough. Just don't eat the core."

Rey was touched by his gesture and happily accepted it. Biting into the fruit, its juice ran down her chin, and she couldn't help but laugh. This light, crisp sweetness was unlike anything else she had ever tasted. Though her body demanded that she consume her calories as fast as possible, she purposefully slowed herself, wanting to experience the taste for as long as possible. Rey had shaved every last piece of edible velvet away with her teeth, leaving only the core and stem remaining.

After their meal together, Rey resumed her ball-like positioning. A soft blanket or a cloak to snuggle in would be great, but that threadbare scratchy monstrosity from before seemed to be her only option. As she pulled it up over her shoulders, she remembered it's one redeeming quality, it did smell of Kylo Ren. Though, even that was not much of a benefit, for the man was mere feet from her. She had so much she wanted to ask him but wondered how much was appropriate given the overwhelming events of the day.

"If you're going to steal my blanket, can I at least have my pillow?" Kylo Ren asked. Well, really, he wasn't so much asking as telling, because he didn't wait for a reply to pull the pillow away from Rey before tucking it behind his head.

He propped himself on the arm of the couch and stretched his long body, digging his feet between Rey and the back of the sofa. It kind of ticked as his toes ran along her back. Once fully extended, he showed no signs of contracting and looked relaxed, as if he could fall asleep. Rey, however, was not sleepy at all, despite the exhaustion in her body. There were too many questions running through her mind.

Kylo Ren had seen Rey look this way many times before. She wanted answers; she was always searching for answers. Kylo Ren had tried, twice before now, to offer such answers in exchange for her joining him on the path to the dark side. Knowing that she still had no desire to turn, he decided that goal was better saved for a later time. For now, he only wanted two things of Rey, for her to trust him, and to feel safe. He was content to wait as long as she needed to speak the words. Their silence did not need to be filled, for his mind and body were already at peace by having Rey so close by. He couldn't help though, imagining how wonderful it would be if she were to lay beside him. He would relish in touching her every curve, kissing every inch of her skin, and listening to the rhythm of her breath as she slept safely wrapped in his arms. His fantasy was brought to an abrupt end as Rey spoke that name, that name he longed to just burn away—Ben. Why did she have to use that name? He allowed it from her, only from her, and only as a courtesy up until now. But still, it felt almost wrong to respond to it. Ben Solo died, and he was never coming back, a sentiment that he had shared with Rey several times, but she still resisted accepting that truth.

"I've been thinking about today." Rey started. "How was Palpatine able to invade my mind like that? Is it like using force suggestion, only more powerful?"

"If it was force suggestion, this was on a scale I've ever seen before. What was going on inside your head, when it happened?"

"I'm not sure. I think he latches on to me when I am scared or angry. Once he does, it's not like I am watching my body do things I didn't want, it's more hazy than that. It's like trying to remember a dream after you've woken up. Some of the details are there, but other things are missing, and you never quite remember the beginning. It wasn't even like I was really fighting him. I just sort of stopped feeling scared for that moment. I started focusing on the thoughts that put you in my head. I knew you were there, and that gave me strength. I don't think I could have fought him alone."

"And you won't ever have to." He said, sitting upright, covering Rey's hand with his own. The feeling of Kylo Ren holding her hand practically dissolved her anxiety. The gentle stroke of his thumb along the back of her hand reassured her than she was not alone. Now, more than ever, she regretted not taking his hand the day they fought together in the red throne room. Rationalizing with herself, she remembered that he was selfish, and angry, and violent, and yet…no one in the entire galaxy stilled Rey's fears the way he did. And certainly, no one stirred such emotion in her heart the way he did.

Spinning her hand beneath his own, she laced her fingers within his. For this night, the problems of the galaxy were not their concern. The two were able to share stories of their pasts and understand the motivations of the other on a deeper level. Kylo Ren resented the light for all it represented. Jedi killed, resistance troops took out innocent lives if it meant achieving their objective, even the legendary Luke Skywalker was so threatened by a child that he tried, if only for a moment, to kill him. Kylo Ren viewed the mantra of the Jedi to be nothing but a prophesied falsehood. While he himself was emotional, he feared those who were emotionless. How could a Jedi claim to protect the galaxy if they purposefully drove love from their hearts? Perhaps that was why it was so easy for Luke to wield a saber against his innocent nephew.

And peace? Even as a child, Ben Solo did not know peace. He was teased and taunted by other children, and forced to watch his father long to be anywhere but bound to the place he was. Wanting to adventure, to smuggle, to live his life. And watching his mother resent Han all the more for it all. His parents, both of them, often aired their grievances to Ben in secret, with the obligatory "don't tell your father/mother, but…" statements. It was possible that Ben could predict his parents' separation long before anyone else. And while he never stated it, Rey couldn't help but piece together the timing of the events. Snoke's influence started to take hold after one of his parents' many fights.

Knowledge, well, that was something both he and Rey could agree was vital. But so was power. Jedi never preached power, and yet for the longest time, they were the peacekeepers of the galaxy. What was that if not power?

Rey told of her long sleepless nights in Jakku, waiting for her parents to return. How she learned to scrap metal, scavenge for old parts, and repair old tech. She spoke of days where she ate nothing and hoped that a ship would crash so that there would be new parts for her to salvage. She never gave much thought to the fact that crashing a ship meant those on board would likely perish. In those days, hunger was so profound that it blurred her humanity.

She missed the heat. While Jakku was nothing but a desert of bad memories, the heat was it's only exoneration. Everywhere she had been since leaving Jakku felt cold. Except, of course, when she was being held by Kylo Ren. Though, there was no need for her to share that particular detail right now.

Rey talked of training on Ahch-to, how she feared that her journey had been for nothing. How angry she felt at the personal cost she entailed to retrieve Luke Skywalker's lightsaber only to have him careless toss it away. He never trained her, not truly. He was always withholding something. And at the first sign that she even started to imagine power, he reprived himself of his mentorship. In those nights, she never slept, not because of the cold and damp, though admittedly, it didn't help matters, but because of her loneliness. That was when the force began connecting them. Even though she still saw Kylo Ren as an enemy at that time, she grew comfortable with his company and even longed for it. The night they touched hands, she imagined him suddenly coming into view, to save her from her isolation. And almost like magic, or fate, or the will of the force, his voice answered her. From that moment on, she felt drawn to him in a way she couldn't explain and yet somehow, he still understood completely.

In the depths of his brown eyes, she saw him for everything he was. He was just as lonely as she was, his past just as painful, his intentions just as misunderstood. They were more alike than Rey cared to admit. She knew he cared for her in his own insane way. He wanted to turn her to the dark side, not for his benefit, but because he thought it would genuinely help rid her of her pain. He wanted to give her power in a world that painted her to be nothing. He risked his life to save her from Palpatine, even after she rejected him. If only he could prove that he was indeed Ben Solo again, if only he would go back to the resistance with her, then maybe she would allow herself to admit what she was feeling. Though even if she did not express it in words, Kylo Ren was able to sense it nonetheless.

Rey's heart beat faster as Kylo Ren's face grew closer to her own. Even as her own eyes instinctively closed, she hesitated. "Ben," she said, shaking the emotion from her head. "I don't want to do this." His face stopped mere inches from her own. Releasing his hand, she angled her body away from him. "I should go to bed." Rey tried to get up from the couch only to find her attempt halted by a tug on her arm. Klyo Ren had taken her wrist and guided her body back down to the couch. Rey could have resisted, easily, if she had wanted to, but truth be told, she didn't really want to go to bed yet. Only in the depths of her mind was she able to admit to herself that she wanted to let him kiss her. But all the demons of her past continued to shout in opposition. He killed Han, he captured and tortured her the first time they met, he slaughtered millions of innocent people. How could she just forgive all of that, even if he did become Ben again?

"I won't do anything that you don't want." He reassured her.

"Thank you, Ben."

His face scowled again. Clearly, Rey had hit a nerve. With a heavy sigh, he said, "I don't want you to call me that."

"But it's your name."

"My name is Kylo Ren."

"Your mother gave you that name."

"Yes, and Palpatine gave you yours. Just as much as you do not wish to live up to that legacy, don't hold me to live up to whatever your imagination has painted Ben Solo to be."

"Wait, what do you mean, Palpatine gave me my name?"

"I was in your head today Rey, you saw it. Palpatine needs a new body. He wants one that just doesn't have power, but one who has his power." Rey's eyes shot open in shock as nervousness began to overtake her. She knew of the vision Kylo Ren recalled, for she saw it too. She just didn't want to believe it. "When we touched hands, when I saw into your head, I saw your parents, exactly as you saw them. You had pushed those thoughts so far back in your mind that you forgot what really happened." Rey shook her head wildly, not wanting to remember those images she worked so hard to repress. The ones that he seemed to effortlessly draw out. Every memory he unleased only caused her sadness. "Remember them, Rey. Remember what happened. They were no-body, because they chose to be. Because they wanted to protect you from him, from his legacy…from your legacy."

"Enough," she exclaimed, not wanting to reconcile with any more of her past that night.

Scooting in closer, Kylo Ren placed a comforting hand on Rey's shoulder. He understood why she detested the idea of descending from the Palpatine line. Rey silently questioned how her resistance friends would ever look at her the same way again? Would Leia trust her anymore? Was all her training for nothing as she deemed destined towards the dark side? Palpatine killed Darth Vader, or so the stories say, and the man practically worshiped his grandfather. How could she be descended from a line of darkness and destruction? "Let the past die, Rey. You don't have to become like him. I won't let you become like him."

Rey leaned her body into Kylo Ren's as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She may have protested to a real kiss, but gave no such objection as his lips pressed against her forehead. Rey found the warmth and comfort of his embrace to bring about a calmness in her soul. She believed him; he would not let her wind up like Palpatine. He would not let Palpatine control her like a puppet any longer. And she, in turn, was determined to bring Ben Solo, if not in name, then in spirit, permanently back to life. After a near-endless string of yawns, Rey left for his bed that he graciously allowed her to sleep in while he restrained himself to sleeping on that horribly uncomfortable couch. While usually, Kylo Ren would opt to lay on his back, his body was too long for the furniture, and his feet would hang off the end unless he curled himself up while lying on his side. He hoped that soon Rey would feel comfortable enough to allow him to sleep in his bed with her. Patientience, he reminded himself. Rey was here, willingly, and for tonight, that was victory enough.

"Good night, Rey." He called out as he dimmed the lights, leaving the room in pitch darkness.

"Sleep well….Ren."


	4. Chapter 4

**Content Warning**: The following chapter contains descriptions of sexual assault.

* * *

Chapter 4 - Weakness and Strength

* * *

The next two days weren't so bad when Rey thought about it. Kylo Ren had vanished, having left before she awoke in the morning without word nor warning. At least this time, he left her a stack of books and archive files from the fallen Empire. Her days were spent reading about the Jedi of old, the construction of a lightsaber, the democracy in the galaxy, and how it willingly fell to the dictatorship of Palpatine. There were books about clones, about wars, and the most interesting of all, one particularly beat-up old book about the force that was not written by Jedi nor Sith. Its leather cover had seen better days, the edges worn bare exposing the thin wooden backing beneath. The spine looked as though jolts of lightning had flown through it and that if Rey did not hold the pages in place, they would likely all tumble out on the floor. The once crisp white pages were yellowed and stained, with several being stuck together. It had gotten wet at some point in its existence, for the ink had distilled blurring the lines of text into one another, making each nearly impossible to distinguish. There was a section that had been bookmarked, and despite the damage, Rey was able to make out the words.

_The Force is balanced in all things. For there to be good, there must also be evil, though we must not allow evil to flourish. There can be passion yet peace. There can be love yet rational thought._

She read further.

_As the darkness rises, so too does their equal in the light. Bounded by the force, they create the balance. A dyad in the force, two that are one. Connected in mind and spirit, they are stronger together than any Force wielding being to bring the galaxy into equilibrium where neither the monstrosities of the Sith nor the detachedness of the Jedi prevails in isolation. _

"A dyad…" she questioned. Reading further, she concluded the same thing that Kylo Ren had months prior. They were such a dyad in the force. Connected, drawn to each other, stronger together. In her presence, he was able to bring himself back to the light. With his help, she was able to drive Palpatine from her mind. There was one thing that troubled her about this passage, it implied that one of the two would always be bent towards the dark and the other toward the light. Was there really no reality in which she and Ben could both be drawn to the light side of the force together?

Rey had discovered many of the secrets of the Supreme Leader's quarters. The hidden buttons that made tables, panels, and secret (albeit empty) closets appear or disappear, how to the dim the lights, and how to work the COM channels, though there was no one on the ship she really needed to talk to. After two additional meals of who-knows-what and an orange and red nutrient drink with which to wash it all down, she decided to take a chance and left a note on her lunch tray asking for the green juice that she was able to consume so easily. Upon inspection of her dinner tray, the food looked as horrendous as ever, but there it was—a green drink! Small victories, she thought, were how she would pass the time until Kylo Ren's return. Or, until she got so bored that she would escape the locked room and go exploring the command ship. For as dull as the days were, the nights were insufferably dreary as insomnia continued to plague the scavenger girl.

On Jakku, sleepness nights were a common occurrence. Her mind would race in questioning who were parents were, why they had left her, and when they would return. Over and over, the scene would play in her head of her parents leaving her behind on that desert planet. The smell of burning shuttle fuel was permanently etched into her mind as tears ran down her face while her lungs screamed for her parents with such intensity that her ears began to hurt. She had the answers to those questions now, answers that not Luke nor Leia, but Kylo Ren alone had given her. And yet, her nights were still restless, and her mind still raced. However, this time, her rumination was fixated on the dark Jedi, who started as her adversary, became her ally, and now was either her captor or her friend, depending on just how annoyed Rey was at any given moment with her inability to leave this set of rooms. Digging her face into the pillow, the once comforting scent has faded. In recognition of her own disappointment, Rey was able to admit that she missed Kylo Ren; but further rationalized with herself that it must surely be because he would cure her boredom.

If she were still in the company of Finn and Poe, her days would be filled with laughter at their budding bromance. She could practically hear their banter about how the other obviously cheated at Dejarik, uniting only when the two would take on Chewie together…and still lose. Rey herself never participated in the games; she picked up some of the rules, when she bothered to pay attention, but was still confused by the strategy of it all. Though, she did not grow up with social games as her friends had. Ben Solo had probably been raised on such games, especially being the son of a smuggler. Smugglers knew all manner of card games, cheating techniques, and "house rules," which varied gameplay based on who was (and was not) at the table. It would not be at all surprising to learn that Ben's strategic brilliance in battle translated over to games as well. Perhaps, he could teach her how to play Dejarik. With such a brilliant strategist as her teacher, surely mastering the game would take no time at all. She smiled at the thought of Poe and Finn's faces, mouth agape, at the idea of her and Ben challenging them out of the blue to a game only to wipe the floor with them.

* * *

If there was one thing that the First Order had over both the Resistance and her life on Jakku, it was hot showers. Steamy water dripping from the ceiling like an endless waterfall washed away her stress and her past. Lathering the white bar of soap between her fingers, she massaged the suds over every inch of her body, taking in it's calming lavender scent. Bathing was not common in the desert, with water being the most precious commodity, followed, of course, by food. Though she could shower at the resistance base, the water was always freezing and would ignite goosebumps across her skin. Between the pattering of water droplets hitting the metal floor, she thought perhaps she heard the chamber door hiss open.

"Ren?" she called out, immediately stopping the water and quickly trying to pull clean black clothes over her drenched body. The fabric clung to the dampness of her skin and refused to be tugged into place. She quickly turned away at the hiss of the bathroom door, declaring that she wasn't decent and to not come in, yet the clack of multiple boots on the floor was unmistakable. Glancing over her shoulder, the white outlines of four stormtroopers filled her view. Blasting two of them away with the force was easy, but the third shot out of his blaster an electrical wire that when attached to Rey's already wet skin sizzled throughout her body, leaving her hair fried and frayed, and her body convulsing once more on the floor before everything in the room went dark. The next person to send electricity through her body was going to die.

* * *

Gasping for breath as she woke, Rey found herself once again restrained. This time, in a First Order interrogation room. She had been in such a room once before and found it just as unsettling this time around. Who would be conducting the interrogation this time? And what could they possibly want from her? Her wrists, ankles, and hips were all bound to the chair. Glancing about the room to see if there was some useful tool she could pull to free herself, she found only an array of black panels around her and what appeared to be patches of dried blood on the floor.

_"Ren….something has happened, please come back." She called out._

The click of officer's heels approached from behind, ending her concentration, and General Hux came into view. He looked amused, with a half-cracked smile as he held his hands neatly behind his back.

"Comfortable?" he asked.

Why did everyone always ask that? As if anyone was ever going to say that being strapped to a First Order interrogation chair was anything other than a panic-filled nightmare. He looked her up and down and walked about the chair just out of view. Poe had described Hux as scrawny, a weakling, and her own assessment of the man confirmed the same. He didn't look particularly intimidating, maybe he too would benefit from a mask to instill terror. And yet, this gaunt man had the entire First Order fleet at his disposal. Luckily, if he was half as dumb as Poe described, then using force suggestion should hopefully get her out of this situation.

"You will undo these restraints." She started before being interrupted by Hux.

"Don't bother with your silly little mind games, they don't work on me." He said, clearly irritated. "Look at you, filthy scavenger scum, aboard _my_ ship!"

"Aboard _Kylo Ren's_ ship, you mean. Or is he not still your Supreme Leader?" Rey's sassy remark cost her dearly. With a press of a single button on a small activating remote that Hux kept concealed within his hands, an electric shock blasted up her spine. It was as if her entire body was trying to be pulled through a pin-sized hole in her low back. Her screams of agony echoed throughout the chamber until even Hux himself was made uncomfortable by the volume of the overtones.

"You will keep your filthy mouth shut, girl! Now, you will tell me why Kylo Ren has gone to Mustafar. He seems to like keeping secrets these days. What is he doing there?" Clenched teeth and silence were his only reply, as Rey kept her eyes fixed to the floor. "You better answer me when I ask you a question!" He pressed the activator again.

"I don't know!" she screamed. "He didn't tell me!" The pain didn't cease this time but continued to throb within her bones long after the initial shock dissipated.

"I suppose I can't really picture Kylo Ren being one for pillow-talk with his whores. Tell me, what secrets of the First Order have you managed to get him to slip while you were undoubtedly sucking his dick."

"I…am not….his whore!" Rey seethed.

"Oh really now, let's not pretend with each other. He brought your lifeless body back to _MY_ ship and has been keeping you in his private chambers. Even after you killed our Supreme Leader, his mentor, Master Snoke. Why would he bring you here? You, a disgusting, vile creature from a nothing planet savaging for parts to trade for your drinking money, no doubt."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not his whore, nor do I drink."

Pressing the button, he continued to speak amidst Rey's shrieks. "He tells the commanding officers that he hopes to turn you to the dark side. It was the same lie he spouted off to Supreme Leader Snoke. I don't buy it for one second. You serve a different purpose, and now, you'll tell me what that purpose is."

Rey wheezed and gasped for breath that burned within her throat, but each inhalation of her lungs felt like no air had entered them at all. "I'm waiting." He said impatiently.

"I…don't know….please…I don't know…"

"You've escaped his grip a dozen times before. Escaped our ships twice before…why are you staying?"

"I want…to turn…." She lied. "Kylo…Kylo Ren, he….showed me the power…of the dark side. I want it. He is showing….showing me the ways of the force. He is my teacher."

"Liar! If that were true, he would have taken you along with his precious Knights of Ren to Mustafar. But he didn't, you're here. Does he intend to have you replace me as second in command?"

"I don't know, I swear."

In an unusual event that Rey never could have predicted. Hux released her restraints, allowing her body to fall to the floor. Feeling along the small of her back for that damned device that continued to shock her, she felt nothing…only skin. Her relief was short-lived as Hux grabbed her by her hair with such force that she felt her scalp would rip apart and pulled her several feet from the chair. An accompanying storm trooper bound Rey's hands to restraints rooted in the floor.

"On your knees, girl." He ordered. Rey struggled to move her body and was met with a swift kick to her core that not only knocked out her wind but the contents of her stomach as well. "I said, on your knees!" Clenching her stomach and unable to move, Rey tried to buy herself some time.

"I can't….move…please…." she panted. She tried to calm her mind to call out to the other half of her dyad once more, but her attempt was interrupted by the rubber heel of Hux's boot cutting across her lips, releasing their sweet red blood in a spray across the floor.

Trying to summon her strength, she threatened Hux. "Stop this now, and I'll ask Kylo Ren to show you mercy. But if you dare touch me again, I won't hesitate to let the man kill you."

"Hold her," Hux ordered, clearly without fear of whatever consequence the Supreme Leader would impose once he found out this. Two stormtroopers pulled Rey's hips off the floor and positioned her on her knees. With her wrists still bound to the floor, Rey had no strength to raise her head until a sheer adrenaline rush surged through her veins as Hux began to pull down her pants, exposing her most private area.

"No! Stop! Please!" she begged.

"Quit your whining! You act like you've never done this before." Hux examined the fear in Rey's face, Her eyes tightly sealed, and her teeth clenched as if preparing for pain. "You've…never done this before? Well, let me fill you in on a little secret," he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "It's going to hurt like hell."

Tears surged from Rey's eyes at the pain and the humiliation of what Hux was doing to her. She had managed to go for nearly twenty years of life without allowing a man to do this, though many had tried. She was strong, a force to be reckoned with, and yet since Palpatine had captured her, all she felt was weak. The friction of his body inside her own burned and bled, and despite Rey's pleas for him to stop, he only slammed harder into her. She couldn't believe that any woman would do this willingly.

_Silence fell in the interrogation room, for only a moment, and through the salted clouded haze of tears, her eyes saw the outline of that dark Jedi running through the void._

The darkness in her grew as did the vision of Hux's head impaled on the end of her quarterstaff. Her eyes glowed red, and recognizing what was happening, allowed Palpatine to entirely consume her body, hoping that his power would save her from this situation. The assisting Stormtroopers signaled to Hux that something was amiss, but before he could stop, Rey's fingertips extended, unleashing her own electrical shock onto the soldiers who jolted violently as they came crashing to the ground having instantly died. With a clenching of her hands, the walls of the interrogation room began to crunch. Metal scraping on metal echoed in the room as panels came flying off the wall.

"That's enough!" Hux declared, pressing the activator again. The sudden literal shock to her system broke her connection with Palpatine, leaving bloody red tears to once again fall from her face. Hux continued to press the activator, sending endless agony throughout her body, which only ceased at the sound of the interrogation room door hissing open.

Kylo Ren bolted through faster than Hux had ever seen. There was no moment of shock or reaction – he knew what he would find the second he entered those doors. With a push of his hand, Hux's body slammed against the back wall. Removing his black cloak, he covered Rey's exposed body and, with a snap, released her wrists from the floor. Her mouth was bloody, and her hair sopping wet. What in the galaxy had Hux done to his beautiful Jedi? Conflicted as to whether to attend to Rey first or kill Hux, the choice was made for him as Hux interjected, "Don't release her, she's gone absolutely insane!" A force blow crashed Hux into the wall again, and unable to breath began to have the very life choked from his lungs.

Despite being covered by the long black cloak, Rey pulled frantically at her pants to cover herself, and every inch of movement persuaded her more that she would not live through this encounter. Pain still reverberated through her muscles, her bones, her nerves, everywhere. There was not an inch on her body that didn't pulse in anguish.

"Explain yourself." Kylo Ren seethed. Even through the distortion of his voice, the tone was nothing short of furious.

"I was merely conducting an interrogation. Hoping to have vital information for you about the resistance upon your return." Kylo Ren still had not entirely released him from the chokehold, and his body was still frozen against the wall.

"This scavenger girl was able to go hand to hand with me in combat, how were you able to overpower her?" Hux stared at the activator on the floor, signaling to Kylo Ren that the device had something to do with Rey's submission. "What does it do?"

"It's the latest in interrogation techniques. Rather than bounding a prisoner to an interrogation table, we are able to insert compliance disks directly into their spine. One press delivers an excruciating amount of electrical shock."

"You were…shocking her?"

"Yes, Supreme Leader. To acquire information….for the First Order." Hux began to gasp desperately for air as Kylo Ren tightened his grip. "Careful Ren…without me, you lose….the entire fleet."

Clearly agitated by his words, the dark Jedi released his hold and allowed the general's body to fall to the floor. He was right. After the death of Snoke, Hux had taken extra precautions to ensure his position at the commander of the First Order remained intact. While any stormtrooper would, of course, obey a command given by the Supreme Leader, such orders could be overruled by Hux. With Palpatine loose in the galaxy and the resistance making endless trouble, he couldn't afford to also deal with a coup in his own forces.

"General, if I ever find that you are in my chambers again, you will find yourself wearing one of these disks," he said removing his helmet. With a single hard strike, smashed Hux' face in with his helmet, leaving his nose obviously broken and bloody. "Get out," he hissed. Holding his obviously broken nose and leaving a trail of blood in his path, Hux rushed for the door and never looked back.

Once, Hux had departed. Kylo Ren knelt beside Rey and placed his hand on her back. She jolted away at his touch. Was he really more concerned that Hux entered his chambers than what was done to her? How could this have happened? Clearly, there was only suffering to be found within the First Order. Removing one of his gloves, his bare hand touched her back again. Through silence and concentration, he began to heal her, just as he had done at the Senate, and hoped to relieve some of the pain from her body.

Even though he was trying to help, Rey did not want to be Kylo Ren's "guest" anymore. Her friends were not there to prevent her from getting captured by Palpatine. They didn't come for her while she was held, prisoner. They certainly were not coming for her now. Rey was alone and couldn't depend on anyone. She had to escape this place, she just had to.

Thoughts ran through her head of killing Hux. She imagined being able to choke the life out of him with her force. Or perhaps running him through with her lightsaber. Or even watching Kylo Ren smash his entire head to bits with his helmet. These thoughts caused her body to swell with power as she continued to twitch from the lingering pain in her body.

Kylo Ren couldn't properly heal her if she continued to move around. Holding her down would help with the healing, but would surely destroy her already fragile mental state. He was able to catch the opening of her thoughts and realized her physical pain was secondary. She was scared, and angry, and full of hate. Even though he was beside her, she still felt so alone. Palpatine would likely latch onto her at any moment in such a state.

Tossing his other glove aside, the dark Jedi gently turned Rey over before pulling her into his embrace and pressed his head on her own. "It's okay now, Rey. I'm here." He whispered, and he gently stroked her arm. "I feel all of your pain. I feel your hate growing inside you. Don't let it. Don't give Palpatine a chance to take hold of you."

Rey grabbed onto Kylo Ren's arms to help hold herself up. Even with Kylo Ren supporting her, she didn't want to let go of her control. She had to support her own body, she couldn't depend on anyone. Her breath grew more rapid, and her eyes reddened once more.

"Let it go, Rey. Remember how to drive him out. Let go of your hate, of your anger, of your fear."

Her hate continued to swell, and with an outburst, slammed both her fists into her captor's chest with a strength that would have left a lesser man with shattered ribs. Her mind raced now with hatred for this man. He let this happen to her. He should have returned her to her friends. He never should have brought her here. He never should have held her as his prisoner. He should never have left her alone.

Kylo Ren winced at the pain in his chest but wrapped his arms tighter around Rey. He wasn't angry that she had hit him. He thought back to when he was learning to use the dark side of the force. How easy it was to let it consume you. How difficult it was to focus your hate onto your true enemy without lashing out at everyone in your path.

His meditations were not calming her, and she was very quickly losing control as all the panels in the wall, and even the bolted interrogation chair began to shake. He had to shift her thoughts onto something else, and quick. She tried again to pound on his chest and knock him away. He allowed her to strike and took her face in his hands placed his forehead against her own, looking directly into her eyes. His eyes were full of sorrow, feeling all of the hate and all of the pain that burned through her soul. He didn't want her to know the misery of harboring hate. The Jedi had at least got one thing right about the dark side of the force, hate led to suffering. A single thought looped through Rey's mind, again and again, it was Hux' voice then Palpatine's, then Kylo Ren's himself, "_You're ruined! Damaged goods! Who would ever want you now?" _

"You're not damaged, or ruined, or anything. You are the strongest woman in the entire galaxy. You are beautiful to me."

Rey closed her eyes as Palpatine fueled her hate and, with one more hit of her closed fists, was able to knock Kylo Ren backward onto the floor. Raising his hand towards her, Kylo Ren entered her thoughts and connected to the master behind the puppet. Their wills struggled against each other as each unsuccessfully tried to push the other from Rey's mind.

_"I won't let you have her!" Kylo Ren shouted. _

_"She was mine long before you ever knew of her existence. Bring her to me, and I will reward you handsomely." _

_"You'll die first."_

Through Rey's puppet body, the force blew the dark Jedi's body against the ramshackled walls of the room, his connection broken. Forcing Rey's body to stand, each inch of movement was met with strain. Standing over him, ready to unleash the Emperor's wrath, Rey's body resisted the movement. The lightning was practically on the edge of her fingertips, and yet, did not leave.

_"I won't hurt him."_

_"He allowed this to happen to you! He left you alone, and his absence allowed you to become the ruined scavenger whore of the First Order."_

_"I…am….not…damaged!" she screamed, unleashing her wrath upon the Emperor. A feat which zapped what little energy she had remaining from her body. _

"Ren," She cried out collapsing into his waiting arms, which held her tightly once more as he gently lowered her to the ground.

"Breathe, Rey." He whispered. "I've got you."

Realizing with utmost clarity of what was occurring inside her head, she knew that she had to let her hatred and her anger go. But how? She focused on the touch of Kylo Ren's chest beneath her head, his arms around her body. She wasn't going to fall over. He wasn't going to leave. She wanted to let go, but her power still surged inside of her. If she couldn't let emotions go just yet, perhaps she could let go of her control. Rey let her open hands fall into her lap. She allowed her neck relax, resting her head on his shoulder, and concentrated on the sensation of his thumb, stroking her cheek.

"That's it," he whispered. "Let go." Hot salty droplets began to run down her face as she cried bloody tears into his chest. Slowly, her anger subsided. The vision of Palpatine blurred into nonexistence. She wasn't sure how long she cried, it felt like hours. All the while, she felt Kylo Ren holding her close, stroking her hair, calming her mind, and healing her body.

Once the adrenaline in her veins had subsided, she felt dizzy. In just moments, she realized that this was not just dizziness, this was nauseousness. "I…, I feel sick," she whispered as she tried to pull away from him.

Holding out one hand, he used the force to pull a bucket (used to mop up blood of battered prisoners) to him from across the room, just in time for Rey to lean over and empty the remaining contents of her stomach into the bin. He supported her head and allowed her body to purge whatever it needed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** This chapter is a little bit shorter than some of the others, but I didn't want to force extra interactions nor did I want to paste together the events of this chapter with the next. As we are all dealing with the outbreak of the coronavirus, I hope we can find a little bit of distraction in each other's writing. Take care everyone, and remember to wash your hands!

* * *

Chapter 5 - Pain and Comfort

* * *

Rey drifted in and out of her dream-like state, sensing that Kylo Ren was near her all the while. She felt the warmth in his soul, bringing light to her own, helping to release the hate for Hux that still steeped in her core. As the dream gave way to reality, she found herself cradled in the arms of the Supreme Leader, safely wrapped within his cloak. They were still in the interrogation room, and his soldiers were in the process of removing the bodies of the dead Stormtroopers and destroyed wall panels. The tranquilness that being so close to Kylo Ren brought faded the movements and noises of activity around her away.

Every muscle in her body felt stiff, and yet, she didn't feel the level of physical pain she expected to. This had happened before. After being freed of Palpatine's clutches, she dreamt of Ben Solo, and all the pain in her body seemed to wash away. Was the force able to heal? It made sense, for Luke spoke of how the force was the essence of all living things. Even still, that life would have had to be drawn from somewhere, and the only logical method was for the healer to…to give his own life force. Kylo Ren's continued acts of selfless love allowed Rey to finally open her heart in a way that she had been struggling—perhaps it was finally okay to admit that she cared for him too.

Leaning away ever so slightly, she was able to tilt her head to look at him and hoped that he could sense her desire to leave this terrible place. Her hazel eyes ran dark in this low lighting and lacked their gilded shimmer that only natural star-light could envoke. She was still shaken by what had happened, though no one In their right mind could blame her. Tracing his thumb along the dried trail of bloody tears that caressed her cheek, he longed once more to touch his lips to hers. Surely, such a display of affection would communicate that everything was okay now and that nothing Hux could ever do would make her any less beautiful in his eyes.

"Leave, all of you!" he ordered to the room. Clearly, these soldiers had at least half a brain, for they stopped their work immediately and quickly headed for the door. Once the low clang of the closing metal doors confirmed their solitude, he turned his attention back to the girl in his arms. Even now, she was fighting back silent tears.

"Can we go back to your quarters? I don't want to be down here anymore." Her voice rang hollow and defeated.

"Do you feel okay enough to stand?" he asked in reply. Kylo Ren let the girl press against his shoulders to raise herself up. Lightheadedness swept in, but her will to leave that torturous chamber was stronger. Holding on to the dark Jedi for balance and support, he exhibited something for which he was not especially well known—patience. Without rushing her, he allowed Rey to move slowly, to stop when needed, and allowed him to support some of her weight. He kept one arm wrapped around her shoulders, leading her down the hall toward the elevator. No one dared look at them, for fear of the Supreme Leader's temper.

Alone once more, away from the prying eyes of Stormtroopers and other First Order personnel, Rey allowed her head to rest on his shoulder, a gesture that was met with a loving kiss on her forehead. As they approached the floor of officers' chambers, Kylo Ren offered to carry the scavenger girl the rest of the way. Imagining what it must feel like to be held in his strong arms, Rey almost agreed. She was perfectly capable (mostly) of walking, but was tempted by the comfort that being so close to him would undoubtedly bring. In the end, she felt compelled to decline, insisting that walking on her own was the only way to show everyone aboard this ship that the First Order had not yet broken her.

* * *

Many officers of the First Order referred to the scavenger girl as "filthy," but today was the first day that she genuinely felt it. It wasn't just the bloodstains on her face and clothes, she felt violated in a way she had never before experienced. Rather than a hot shower, Kylo Ren suggested a bath and proceeded to draw the water. Only the highest-ranking officer's quarters had soaking tubs, intended to soothe away the aches and pains of the battlefield. With his wrist beneath the stream, he made slight adjustments to the temperature, figuring that with as cold as Rey was all the time, a little extra heat in the bathwater might be welcome. On the shelf next to the tub was lavender scented oil, a remedy he had often utilized to quell his own rage. She wafted her hand across the top of the bottle, and after approving of the smell, he proceeded to add its contents to the water, which immediately threw back the scent. "Take as long as you need." He said, leaving her to undress.

Rey, however was not comfortable being left completely alone just yet. "Ren…" She wanted to ask him to stay, but the words wouldn't form on her lips. Tears began to swell in her eyes once more.

Sensing her distress, he knelt down before her. "It's alright to still be shaken by what's happened."

"I just…I don't really want to be alone right now."

"I know. But given how much you blushed seeing me in the midst of getting dressed, I doubt you would fare well having me bathe with you." There was a small, albeit genuine, laugh at his joke. He stayed with her for the next few minutes, waiting for Rey to let him know that she was okay enough to be left alone for a short time. As he departed, the man was forced in his own isolation to deal with an emotion he'd been able to repress thus far with adrenaline—guilt. He never should have left her alone aboard his command ship. He had never worried about Rey's ability to handle herself, though he did opt to leave her behind on this particular excursion due to her recovering injuries. But still, she was safely contained with his private chambers and had never pegged Hux to have the gall to come barging in. His rationalization failed miserably, and with his face buried in his hands, wept for allowing harm to come to the person he cared about most. How would she ever trust him again?

Sliding into the bath, Rey sunk her body below the surface, watching the water level rise and allowing the steam off the surface to fill her lungs. After lathering every inch of her skin with soap, she still didn't feel clean enough and proceeded to use a course pumice soap to scrub every surface of her body again. The blood had come off, and yet, she was still not clean. Over and over, the pumice scraped her skin until, pink and raw, began to crack and bleed. In the silence of the water, she relieved the horrific moments of the day again and again. "Get it together," she thought, "you are a Jedi, you are strong, this shouldn't affect you…no emotion, only peace….no passion, only serenity…no chaos….no emotion…no hatred…no sadness…" Even she couldn't convince herself that she believed these words anymore.

Wrapped in a clean bath towel, Rey couldn't help but notice that her skin was as dry and cracked as the desert plains on Jakku. Looking down on his counter, she saw a glass jar filled with a thick balm that smelled like cream. She hoped that Kylo Ren wouldn't mind her using so much, but decided after what had happened, he likely wouldn't be angry with her for anything right now. The cream both soothed her dry skin and strung her raw wounds, but focusing on this pain allowed her to forget, for a moment, the pain looming in the back of her mind.

Rey found herself staring in the mirror as the glass of the empty jar pinged against the counter. She didn't recognize the person she saw, nor did she like the reflection. She had always thought of herself as a strong woman. After all, she went hand to hand with the legendary Kylo Ren the first time she ever wielded a lightsaber and took down a dozen Praetorian guards with barely a scratch on her. This woman in the mirror was no longer bruised and bloodied but looked just as broken. Where were those scissors? Proceeding to pull open every drawer and cabinet in her pursuit, she knew Kylo Ren had them hidden away somewhere because he mentioned once that he cut his own hair. Managing to find them, Rey was neither careful nor meticulous with her work and began to snip wildly through the continued tears that blurred her vision. Several inches of her dark brown hair wisped to the floor, leaving the length just past her shoulders. Pulling her hair around to the front to check her work, it was not at all even. Some strands were more than an inch longer than others. This was embarrassing, and in her failure, the scavenger girl unleashed her rage upon the mirror, where her bloodied fists generated a ripple of cracks that permeated further with each repeated strike screaming vengeance on Hux. With one final blow, the shards of her humiliation came crashing down, leaving the air to echo the sound of busting glass.

* * *

Kylo Ren had stripped himself of his officer's uniform. His cloak, jacket, shirt, and gloves all reeked from the sulfuric smoke of Mustafar, and in truth, he probably did too. Slicked with grease and sweat, he pulled tiny bits of ash from his hair and recalled the events of the past two days. The way to Exegol was a well-kept secret, even Snoke never shared the way. In the hopes that his late grandfather could once again guide him, a pilgrimage to Vader's home on the volcanic planet was in order. Loyalists to the fallen Sith had ransacked his castle, taking most of the valuable artifacts. After taking out nearly a dozen different tribes, he had managed to amass quite a rare collection, yet, none would lead him to Palpatine. One by one, he carefully placed the artifacts on his table, finishing with the one item that was probably the most valuable of all. A small black bottle contained within the ashes of his fallen enemies from this most recent adventure.

From his dressing room, the repeated muffled bangs were barely noticeable. It was the shatter of glass coming from the bathroom that made him drop the bottle, and without hesitation, enter the room. Rey was doubled over on the sink, her feet surrounded by shards of glass, locks of her beautiful brown hair, salty tears, and sweet red blood. What in the hell had happened? His thick boots crunched over the mirror fragments, and in looking over the poor scavenger girl, the sides of her hands were bruised and bloody. The poor scavenger girl was in so much pain.

As he gently touched her shoulders, Rey turned to face the dark Jedi. He half expected her to blush at the fact that he was only half-dressed, and she was covered only by a bath towel, but with the other matters weighing on her mind, there was no additional room for shyness.

"I can't," she started. "I know that I am supposed to be stronger than this, but I…I'm just…."

_Shhhhh_, he soothed, brushing his calloused hands against her softened skin. "You don't have to be strong tonight. You don't have to be _anything_ tonight."

"Jedi aren't supposed to be affected by their emotions."

"Fuck the Jedi. Whatever you're feeling right now, it's real, and it's valid, and no one in this galaxy has the right to tell you any different." He continued, "Rey, I don't want you to be in pain, but I'm not going to tell you to just get over it."

"The pain is nothing, it's the shame that is tearing me apart."

Taking her face in his hands, he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Luke would tell me to let go of my feeling, Snoke would tell me how I should feel, and I hated them both for it. But now, I'm going to be the biggest hypocrite in the galaxy and do exactly what they did. Don't feel ashamed, you've done _nothing_ to be ashamed of. You are every bit as special, as formidable, and beautiful as you've always been."

"Beautiful?"

He lowered his mouth towards her own. "You've always been beautiful to me, Rey." Allowing her eyes to close, the scavenger girl placed her hands on his strong arms and closed the space between them. Their kiss was sweet and gentle, and the rest of the galaxy seemed to fall away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words between them could never be.

* * *

Even though Kylo Ren was just in the next room. Rey felt slightly uneasy being left alone once again in his chambers. Assuring that his quarters were locked and that no one would be entering, he had to hope that she would be okay for the short time he needed to wash the remains of Mustafar out of his hair.

Poe had mentioned that a full stomach and a good night's sleep cured almost any ailment, though the latter undoubtedly wasn't happening on this ship. What horrible concoction was on tonight's menu, she wondered. The dumbwaiter beeped just in time for the dark Jedi to re-join her. Grabbing both trays out the hatch, he looked confused as to why the one on top had a note labeled _Rey - Green_. The one underneath was not tagged at all. "Green?" he questioned. Upon removing their lids and making quick inspection of both trays, the difference was obvious—the nutrient drinks. "You got them to give you a green one! How?"

"I asked." She replied casually with a smirk in the corner of her mouth, opening her drink before the thought of sharing would come into his's mind.

"You know, as the Supreme Leader of the First Order, I think I am entitled to that."

"As your _guest_, I disagree."

His face combined both shock and amusement as her sassy reply. Holding his red cup up to cheer with her own, they shared a soft smile before downing their daily dose of nutrients.

Whilst they ate, Kylo Ren recounted his adventures on Mustafar, explaining that he had managed to narrow down his search to one last tribe. He needed to return to the volcanic planet to finish his mission and suggested that Rey accompany him and his Knights. Once they had the map, they could defeat Palpatine and finally free Rey's mind of him for good. There was no need to discuss plans after that. Talk of snuffing out the remaining resistance would certainly just create additional strife that neither needed right now. He thought perhaps, once Palpatine had been defeated, Rey would be able to admit how much she wanted the power of the throne. He knew from their encounter in the throne room that Rey desired to play a role in the most important story of their lifetime; she just needed to realize she was destined for a much larger part.

Drowsiness was beginning to set in, but Rey had finally allowed herself to be close to the dark Jedi, and she wasn't willing to leave his company for anything, even sleep. Besides, only with him was she able to forget, at least for a few moments at a time, the horrors of the day. His mere presence brought her peace, his words brought her comfort, and his affection brought her happiness. Once Palpatine was defeated, she thought the two of them could return to Leia together. That he could be redeemed in the eyes of the Jedi, and together they could restore peace to the galaxy.

Rey had begun to drift off but lingered in that space between sleep and awake. It was as if she dreamed, but the events were real. Slouched over the side of the couch, Kylo Ren tucked his arm around her torso and slid the other under her legs. Lifting her was effortless, and he carried her to the bed, hoping that everything would seem less bleak in the morning. Pulling his arms from under her body, he felt Rey's fingers wrap around his wrist. "Stay," she whispered, scooting closer to the wall to make room for him. Even if it was only for tonight, and only driven by her fear of being alone, he welcomed any opportunity to be close to the scavenger girl. Her presence silenced the conflict in his mind, and his path forward was always clear when she was near. Fitting together like spoons, he drank in the smell of her hair and the softness of her body. She relished in the heat of his body and the slowed cadence of his breath. There was a quietness in the galaxy that night as the dyad shared a deep and dreamless slumber.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Passion and Peace

* * *

The Command Shuttle approached the fiery planet of Mustafar at wicked fast speed that only First Order spacecraft were capable of. With the intel from their previous mission, any artifacts that might point the way to Exegol would likely be found within the territory of the Alazmec of Winsit, a cult order even more obsessed with Darth Vader than the Supreme Leader. The objective was simple enough, get in, get the artifacts, and get out. Rey suggested using Kylo Ren's connection to the late Vader to their advantage, perhaps the tribe would be willing to serve the Supreme Leader and simply hand over his grandfather's treasures. It was undoubtedly the most peaceful method. The Knights of Ren all chuckled at her naivete and claimed such cults were more of the "kill now, question later" philosophy, especially when it came to force-sensitive people. They would much prefer to kill the dark Jedi for his lightsaber than serve him in any capacity.

Taking in the feel of her new quarterstaff, gifted to her by Kylo Ren, the scavenger girl remained composed, her expression calm. This was Rey's chance to prove to herself that his words were true, that she was still a strong and formidable Jedi, acting in the best interests of the galaxy. After all, if Palpatine rose to full power, everyone, resistance, and First Order were doomed. The Supreme Leader insisted that getting the wayfinder was necessary at any cost, and was ready to simply slaughter them all without question. But, he had always been an ends-justifies-the-means person, whereas Rey couldn't bear to live with the outcome that came at too high a cost. She insisted on going in alone first, to see if she could sneak past their lines to acquire the artifacts, or at the very least try to reason with them.

As the hatch opened, the wretched stench of sulfur and smoke filled her nose. _Phew!_ The ground looked to be covered in snow, one that didn't crunch under her feet, but rather kicked up its dusty debris into the air—ashes. Good thing she had commissioned herself new clothes in earthy greens, browns, and grays, instead of her usual white. She could sense Kylo Ren behind her; glancing over her shoulder, she heard his words. "We'll keep a distance back, but we're behind you in case there is any trouble."

"Unless we hear a good fight, then we might just have to join in!" one of the Knights joked; several of the others laughed in agreement.

"Don't worry, there won't be." She answered intently, throwing the quarterstaff over her shoulder and departing towards the woods.

Rey was not a fan of the Knights of Ren, they were callous and unrefined boys who relished in violent delights. But, still, with officers in both the First Order and the Resistance keen on wiping the Supreme Leader from the face of existence, a collection of bodyguards was not just a precaution, but a necessity. Countless brainwashed Stormtroopers viewed the Knights of Ren as a badass group of mercenary fighters worthy of praise and adoration. If they supported Kylo Ren's claim as the Supreme Leader of the First Order, so did the troops.

The leadership, however, was an entirely different story. Their incessant interruptions of his time with Rey, often not allowing them more than a few precious minutes during the day before calling him away, had pushed his patience as far as it could go. General Hux would never willingly follow the dark Jedi the way he did Snoke. Even General Pryde showed his suspicions of the Supreme Leader, outright suggesting that they join forces with Palpatine. Surely a seasoned and powerful ruler would be able to guide them in creating discipline and order to the galaxy. Both the generals and other high ranking officers suggested handling Rey over to the Emperor, "for the good of the Order." Kylo Ren fervently swore to end Palpatine, and anyone who doubted his ability to do so was free to leave the ranks of the order via firing squad. To rid the galaxy of the fallen Emperor allowed the dark Jedi to enact revenge for Rey, to free her mind from the Emporer's miserable clutches, and to maintain his control as the leader of the First Order.

Watching Rey depart, the dark Jedi held serious reservations about letting her go into those woods alone. Over the past few days, he enjoyed being able to spend his rest time with the scavenger girl, often fighting off sleep longer than he should have in favor of her company. But it seemed that his dedicated sleeping time was their only chance to be together these days. Her continued presence in his life brought on a feeling he had long since forgotten—hope. Hope that she would choose, of her own free will, to be his, to fight together, and to rule the galaxy with him.

She had returned, more or less, back to her usual self over those days, as he knew she would. He assisted, in whatever way he could, to build her confidence, to remind her of her power, and her importance, not only to the galaxy, but to him. Though, there was a danger in his actions, an inherent fear that loomed in the back of his mind, one that risked shattering the small amount of hope he had built—once Rey no longer felt weak, she may opt to retreat back to Leia and the resistance. _That_ was her weakness, endlessly needing the memory of her parents, seeking them out in everyone she met, in Han, in Luke, and in Leia. Perhaps, once they had rid of her Palpatine, and her legacy, she would finally be able to shed herself of the burden of her past.

As they discussed his plans to return to this desolate place, he had hoped Rey would join him and was delighted when she seemed downright enthused by the prospect. Though, any adventure to allow her freedom beyond the confines of his private quarters was probably a welcome treat. While he never thought of her as a prisoner, they both knew she wasn't truly free to roam the halls of his Command Ship. Confined to his chambers for days on end would have driven any normal person mad, but Rey focused on her meditations, on her studies, and on sparring with a training droid making use of her new quarterstaff. He would have preferred her to have a lightsaber; as a force sensitive being, it was practically her birthright. However, kyber crystals were few and far between. Besides, he always sensed a hesitation in her when she used Luke's saber, almost as if she were afraid of it. In their battles together, both as allies and enemies, he never sensed her full power unleashed within Luke's saber. Perhaps, she simply needed one that was truly her own; a kyber crystal bent to her will the way his crystal was intuned with him.

* * *

The woods were eerily silent, though Rey could sense that there was life nearby. A flash in the corner of her eye suggested that sneaking into the camp was already a nonstarter. Plan B. Calling out to them, she stated her name and that she wanted to talk with them about a map. Quiet chortles and quickly vanishing shadows served as a reply. Venturing further into the thickets, the landscape began to look exactly the same in every direction. She could no longer see the clearing where their shuttle had landed and needed to take care not to get turned around, else she'd be wandering in circles. Speaking of circles, she was now totally surrounded by half a dozen helmeted figures with glowing yellow eyes.

"My name is Rey," she called out. "I am seeking an artifact that once belonged to Anakin Skywalker – a map. I come on behalf of his grandson, Ben Solo. We must reclaim his family artifacts to help save the galaxy from the rising evil." The tribe members continued to observe Rey, creeping in closer. "Do you understand me? I don't want to hurt anyone, I just need to reclaim the artifacts."

One tribe member hissed at Rey, "We serve Lord Vader."

"Darth Vader died, I come on behalf of his grandson."

"Sith?" another hissed.

With determination and confidence on her lips, she replied, "Jedi." Upon hearing that word, the entirety of the group let out a collective shriek and began to open fire on the scavenger girl. Jumping towards the perimeter, she was able to take out two with a single spin of her quarterstaff. Using the force to bound high into the dead canopy, leaping from branch to branch, she managed to avoid the barrage of bullets. The limbs cracked and bowed under her feet, staying on one for too long would be disastrous. Right before her next leap came yet another wave of bullets, and instinctively dodging sent her torso backward, losing her balance, and falling into a soft pile of ashy ground below. Spitting out the burnt earth from her mouth, an uppercut strike with her staff send a tribe member airborn, still firing a steady stream of bullets throughout his trajectory.

Rey danced with three more tribe members, each charging at her while wildly firing their weapons. A step to the right, a block with her staff, pivoting about and horizontal punch of the end of her rod to the back of a tribesman's head. Her movements were instinctual, even without being able to see an enemy behind her, she could sense their moments. With a blast of the force, the remaining two went down. That encounter was almost too easy, though they didn't really seem to be skilled at fighting, just firing their weapons madly. Pressing the small COM button on the collar of her robe, she signaled, _"I took out six tribesmen, and they weren't exactly keen on the idea of us taking their artifacts. Looks like we are doing this your way. I'll meet you in their camp, it should be just ahead."_

Ever aware of her surroundings, she clutched her quarterstaff, admiring how familiar it felt. Though it was not exactly like the one salvaged from Jakku, the weight, the balance, the movement, it was like a friend whom she had missed and had finally been reunited. She never mastered Luke's lightsaber, not really. She faked it well enough, but deep in her core, she always felt the saber resisting her and had never really unlocked its full potential. Kylo Ren had gifted her this new staff along with access to a First Order training facility, complete with training droids. The large open room presented only an illusion of freedom, for Rey had to be escorted both there and back to Kylo Ren's chambers by either the Supreme Leader himself or an arsenal of Stormtroopers (at Hux's insistence). Oddly enough, the only place she had ever felt free was wrapped in his arms the night he slept alongside her. In his presence that night, she was free to experience every feeling in her soul, without beratement to conceal or suppress those "unnecessary emotions that only serve to inhibit your attunement with the force," as Luke had told her. Unaware of whether it was sheer exhaustion or the closeness of the dark Jedi that night kept her nightmares at bay, for that one evening, she neither dreamed nor tossed and turned about the bed, waking exactly as she had fallen asleep, safely enclosed in his embrace. She didn't want to know who owned this quarterstaff before it fell into the hands of the First Order, it was better not to know. It was best not to think about the past at all, to let it die, as he once told her; so that her soul would no longer be tormented by trying to reconcile her growing feelings for the man whose past was nothing short of monstrous.

In the back of her mind, she sensed him through the force. She smelled the ash his boots had kicked into the air and the ground beneath her feet pulsed with each approaching step. Glancing over her shoulder, he appeared there once more, this time alone in those woods, his Knights nowhere to be seen. He claimed that they were going around either side, a pincer movement, he called it, while they drew the tribe straight down the middle.

Rey hated these woods, lacking in water, foliage, and birdsong that made the greenery of Takodana so inviting. On the floor lay the dead remains of the trees of yesteryear. Their boughs scorched, their roots twisted to the sky in their supine state. There was no life, no decay, just death and soot blanketed under an oppressive red sky. Stoping in their march, they both felt the presence of the tribesman, weak in power but sinister nonetheless. Looking around, the glimmer of glowing yellow eyes flashed in their peripherals. Slowly more eyes filled the space between the thickets. Back to back, they spun full circle, sensing more than a hundred tribesmen. "So much for a dozen or so tribesman," he muttered. He knew the intel from the First Order was fake – Hux was looking for any excuse to rid the First Order of his rule. Reading her staff whilst Klyo Ren ignited his saber, the clansmen gawked in awe at the sight of the fiery blade and the man wielding it.

"Get the saber!" one of them shouted, and no sooner did they all descend in their assault.

Kylo Ren sliced through enemy after enemy with ease, often twirling his blade to catch their attention before ramming it full force into their bodies. He was at his most comfortable on the battlefield (except, maybe, for being with Rey), having spent years with the Knights of Ren. In the physical heat of battle, the sheer rush of adrenaline silenced any conflict in his soul.

With cloak flowing and ashy smoke rising, the dark Jedi rammed his crossguard into the belly of one tribesman knocking him to the ground. Without hesitation nor a backward glance to his fallen enemy, the Supreme Leader moved on looking for his next kill. Sliding across the ash, the fiery floor below was released, appearing as if the dark Jedi could summon the flames with his feet. From the flanks, the Knights of Ren came charging in, slicing through dozens of the tribe, eventually reaching the two Jedi in the middle.

Rey had taken out the last of the tribesman around her. Catching her breath, she watched Kylo Ren thrash the last dozen or so enemies that had enthralled around him. His technique astonishing, his footwork quick and deliberate, the spin of his saber to draw their attention before stepping into a horizontal whip of his blade. Beyond the dance, there was power, raw and untamed, as he threw a tribesman over his shoulders, slicing away his arm in the process. Following his final kill, he immediately turned his eyes to Rey, as his lungs panted to claim life-giving air to move his body once the adrenaline had worn off. The sweat on his brow mixed with the soot in the air, and it was as if black oil caked his face. She was okay, a few minor scratches, her hair full of ash, and a sense of power in her eyes. It wasn't until she locked eyes with him that her expression changed to that of concern. Pulling at the scarf around her waist, she gently pressed along his face, patting away the streaming blood springing forth from his opened scar – the scar that she herself had given him.

Beyond the dead forest was the center of their village, and in it, the object of their mission. Walking passed the scavenger girl, with saber still ablaze, he dismissed his Knights, directing them back to their shuttle. Kylo Ren could feel the spirit of his grandfather guiding him to the central hut in the village. A stone tomb marked with ancient words that neither could decipher. With a strong push from the dark Jedi, the top slab of stone shot off the tomb and fractured as it hit the ground. There it was, buried in the sand, a small green prism that would show the way to Exegol and to Palpatine. Hand in hand, they made their way back towards the Command Shuttle. Along the journey, Rey was finally able to take in the destruction of their attack; spread in every direction was a sea of corpses covered in dusty ash. Kylo Ren released her hand, briefly, and pulled out a small black bottle to which he put a small pile of ashes from one of the bodies that had caught fire from the ground.

***(Scene Break) - Sometimes I cannot get the text editor to put in a line break, even after repeated attempts.****

* * *

In their journey, the ground grew dark beneath their feet, engulfed by a shadow resonating from a black tower in the distance. Kylo Ren had stopped to gaze at the structure, the pain of his past haunting him once more. "Come with me?" It wasn't an order, but a request of the scavenger girl, as he abandoned the path back to the command shuttle and opted instead for his grandfather's home.

The tower was in shambles, ransacked and raided by tribesmen, adventurers, and entrepreneurs looking for anything worth value to either the resistance or the First Order. The ruins served as a marker of the uncounted days since they harbored life within their walls. The columns and staircases were blacked from the abuse of years on the volcanic planet. At least with the advantage of their height, the shattered windows revealed the landscape of Mustafar below. Stretching on for miles and miles was nothing but blood-red sky and dead foliage. It could have been beautiful once, maybe, in another time.

Kylo Ren failed to notice the view, and instead stood in agony in front of Vader's throne, much the same as he had done after defeating Snoke. With gaze intently locked onto the throne and labored breath, he began, "the first time we met, I looked inside your head, and you were able to look inside mine. Do you remember what you saw?"

"Your fear that you'll never live up to your grandfather's legacy. That you'll never be as strong as Darth Vader." Did he still harbor that fear? She had to ask the question, even if she was worried about what the answer might be. "Do you still want to be?"

Shaking his head, he replied, "I don't know anymore. I figured that so long as everyone in my life was going to force me into a role that I never wanted, then my only source of control was to outdo their expectations. I've tried a million times to kill my past, but I can never seem to outrun it." He ran his hand along the arm of the dusty throne, pushing the dirt to the floor. Despite being on a volcanic planet, the throne itself was ice cold as Kylo Ren sat himself upon it. Looking out across the desolate room, he wondered what it must have felt like, to not be held in comparison to your ancestors but to be feared for your own raw power.

The scavenger girl stood before the dark Jedi, his eyes staring into the space beyond the floor in front of him, with elbows digging into his knees and chin cradled within his hands. He was within the back of his mind, his past haunting him. Perching herself on the arm of the throne, she wanted to comfort the dark Jedi, in the same ways that he had brought relief to her own racing mind. While Rey took comfort in the form of Kylo Ren's touch and affections, he seemed to be the most at ease when Rey would sit beside him and listen to his truth, without judgment or belittlement. She learned, fairly quickly, that Kylo Ren was no liar. Even when there was another side to his stories (as there always was), Rey couldn't deny the impact they had on turning Ben Solo into the monstrous Kylo Ren. Even if Luke Skywalker swore it was only a moment of hesitation, she couldn't help but imagine the horror in Ben's mind at the sight of his Uncle, his protector, standing over his bed with lit saber and murderous intentions. For whenever he was ready to talk, if he even wanted to, she would be there to hear his words.

Snoke had once promised him this planet, that he should rule it the way Darth Vader had. Such a prize was worthy only of a successful sith apprentice, a role that Kylo Ren had never been able to fill. He never wanted to live on this miserable planet, and yet, Snoke continued to push the idea on him. This was not the first time he had been forced to conform to the will of others; his entire life had been spent forgoing his own ambitions at the demand of those who claimed to care about him. The sorrow was building, but Kylo Ren continued to fight his connection with Rey as if trying to spare her the weight of his pain. Stroking the back of her hand down his arm, he let out a heavy sigh and rested his head on her side.

"It's more than just your grandfather, isn't it? Were you expected to be as great as the legendary Luke Skywalker as well?"

Removing his glove, Kylo Ren held his hand out to the girl beside him. As she cupped her fingers in his hand, she was able to see the flashes of memories past and drown in their sting as he recounted the story. "I never wanted to be a Jedi. I was just a child. I wanted my mother to love my father and for them both to love me for who I was. My father loved Luke far more than he ever loved me. He told me what an _honor_ it was to be trained by the legendary Luke Skywalker. I begged my mother not to send me away, but she told me that it was my duty to follow my heritage as a Skywalker and be trained with the force. It was pushed on me from such an early age that I never really had time to figure out who _I_ was. But I guess it never really mattered who I was. I was never Ben, just "Luke's nephew" or "Han's son," never my own person but always seen the shadow of someone else."

Through their shared vision, Rey saw Leia, as a much younger woman, and in her arms lay her newborn son. Then, a young Ben Solo, maybe eight years old, sat on the floor, sobbing at Leia's feet. "_Stop crying. Your uncle is the greatest Jedi of our time. This is your heritage, Ben, your calling, and your responsibility to this family."_ Leia's words were harsh, her tone even more so. The young boy cried out, _"don't you love me anymore?"_ and in brutal curtness, Leia recited the words of her father, _"a Jedi shall not know anger, nor hatred, nor love."_

The root of his loneliness was not confined to a single event but of years of repetitive rejection from those he once loved. The young Ben Solo believed if he had done what his family wanted, had become a great Jedi, then, perhaps, they would welcome him back into their lives. If he succeeded in his training, perhaps Luke wouldn't maintain his distance from his own nephew. Perhaps the constant belittlement of being called "kid," even at twenty-three years old, would cease. But no matter how strong he became, nor how hard he worked, he never received the affection from his family that he so longed for. _"Displays of _e_motion have no place in the Jedi order._"

His suffering neither ebbed nor flowed through the years, but retained its crippling grip on his heart. His soul was bleeding, invisible to everyone around him. In moments of weakness (especially when having lost in sparing), his perfect mask of composure was ripped away, revealing the tormented child beneath the surface. "_There is no emotion, there is only peace,"_ echoed in the voice of his family and the other boys at the academy. The wounds were not visible, yet grew with each passing year. And yet, through it all, he never hated his parents nor his uncle. He saw failure, not on their part, but his own. He wasn't strong enough yet, he was not yet worthy of their love. It was at this pivotal moment that Snoke began to etch his way into Ben's mind, luring him away from the Jedi. There was power in the dark side. Through power, there was strength, and through strength victory, and through victory, the chains of past, of the choices he was never permitted to make, of the love he so desperately sought but never received would be broken. The dark side of the force would set his soul free.

"You already know what happened next."

"I do." Rey watched the familiar vision. She had seen this before, from both Ben and Luke's perspectives. The night of Luke's fatal error. In the legendary Skywalker's moment of hesitation, of weakness, a sith was born. "Why did you go to Snoke? Why not go back to your mother?"

"Because Snoke gave me what no one in my family ever did—a choice. He knew I never wanted to be a Jedi. He knew my mother abandoned her own Jedi training, but robbed me of that same autonomy. He showed me Vader's legacy, my other heritage, a truth my own family kept hidden from me for nearly twenty years. He didn't force me to turn to the dark side; he let me make that choice on my own. And then, just as my parents tried to mold me into the next Skywalker, Snoke tried to mold me into the next Darth Vader. And I couldn't live up to either of them. I'll never be a Jedi, and I'll never be Vader."

Kylo Ren released his hand, ending their shared vision. The scavenger girl empathized with what it meant to weighed down by legacy. Even if she defeated Palpatine and remained loyal to Leia, there would always be suspicion. Would she turn into her grandfather the way Kylo Ren had tried to become his? At least when she thought her parents were nobody, her legacy was her own. That was all Ben Solo wanted too, his own legacy, not to be forced to live in the shadows of family legends.

In reflecting on her own past, for as long as she could remember, Rey wanted her parents to be someone important. She wanted a legacy and hated Kylo Ren because he had the object of her desires and willingly chose to throw it away. But now, her own legacy tearing at her soul was silenced only in the presence of this dark Jedi. But such conflict had been waging on his heart and mind for nearly his entire life. While the rest of the galaxy may have drawn the divide between Ben Solo, the son of Leia, and Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader of the First Order, there really was no such division. He was one man, with one soul, and deserved to be free of his pain the way Rey longed to be free of her own.

Looking out to the room stretched before her, she finally understood the gravity behind his words. The past needed to die, that was the only way for them both to become who they were truly meant to be. "You're right," she started. "You're no Jedi, and you're no sith, but I don't want you to be. I want you to just be you, and not cast into the shadow of anyone."

Kylo Ren pulled at her waist, and the scavenger girl unexpectedly found herself in his lap. He pressed his forehead to her own softly saying, "When Luke saw the conflict in my soul, he tried to kill me. Snoke used it to control me. My father ignored it. My mother didn't want to deal with it and sent me away to become my uncle's problem. But you, you're the only one who's ever tried to save me from it." Placing her hands on his face, she freely gave her affection to the dark Jedi. In their kiss, she hoped to convey that her feelings were for the man who had saved her twice, whom she had saved once, who understood her pain, who trusted her enough to share his own. Their legacies were irrelevant. His thumb caressed her cheek as their breaths mingled. Rey pulled him closer until there was no space left between them, and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

At the moment of their kiss, the anger of Kylo Ren and the loneliness of Ben Solo faded away into the aether, his soul enveloped in both passion and peace. After that moment, he knew that he couldn't bear to ever be without her again. Rey was his salvation from the terrors of both the Jedi and the Sith, and he pledged his life to being with her from that moment on. Kylo Ren knew that if he ever lost Rey, he would lose himself, for she was the half that made him whole.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Hi Everyone, I am finding myself battling quite the bout of writer's block on both this story and a publication for my job. I think the cabin-fever and isolation are really getting to me. This was supposed to be the front half of my next chapter, but seeing as I am struggling to get the words on the page right now, I decided to split it out into two sections so that I would at least have something posted for the past two weeks. I hope you all are doing well and staying safe and healthy!

* * *

Chapter 7 - Lead and Follow

* * *

There was no way in hell that Rey was going to be caught dead sleeping in one of those pods. The Command Shuttle wasn't capable of light speed jumps and was only intended for short trips. Everyone, though most of all the Supreme Leader, was highly annoyed that Hux had moved the Command Ship away from Mustafar, and refused to come back due to fears of rebel scum having been active in the area. Now, they were forced to navigate with nothing but a skeleton crew to a rendezvous point nearly twelve hours away.

Staring through the acrylic door at the inside of the sleeping pod, Rey had imagined it to be like sleeping in a coffin. And when the time comes that she found herself in one, she had better be good and dead. Kylo Ren showed no such hesitation as he drowsily climbed the three-staired ladder to the pod above her own and crawled inside—that was nearly an hour ago. They didn't look that long, short of two meters in length, which meant her dark Jedi would be forced to contort his body in order to fit inside. Pacing back and forth down the dimly lit hall, Rey envied all the sleeping soldiers that filled the other pods. They were not afraid of being locked inside one of those chambers, nor were they plagued by her incessant insomnia. Slinking down to the floor, the scavenger girl allowed her mind to meditate, hoping to reach a point of sheer exhaustion; only then would she willingly crawl inside her sleeping pod, and even then, she may just as well sleep out in the hallway.

If decorum had permitted, she would have asked to sleep in the same pod with the Supreme Leader. Surely, his presence alone would dispel her claustrophobic fears. Though, if she were being entirely honest with herself, Rey also simply liked the idea of being snuggled up next to him, drifting off to the cadence of his heartbeat. But, privacy eluded all in these cramped quarters where any level of soldier or off-duty Stormtrooper could walk by and peer inside. Rey did not want to hear the adolescent snickers and comments of "whore" or "slut" under the breath of petty soldiers.

Glancing at the ship clock, the green fluorescent 2400 mocked the scavenger girl as her mind still would not quiet and allow her to rest. Palpatine was growing stronger with each passing day, and while she had successfully been able to keep him in check, his voice in her head was growing louder and more frequent. Perhaps, worse than that, was the fear of what came after. In a world where Rey and Kylo Ren no longer shared common enemy, would they still be able to be together? Everything she had done since leaving Jakku had been to further the cause of the resistance. But now…the resistance had lost its gilded façade as Rey continued to learn that the players in this war could not be painted black and white. Both sides had killed, had lied, had shown cruelty, and kindness, and conflict. While the love of her friends still burned brightly in her heart, Rey was no longer sure that her place in the galaxy was fighting for their cause. Yet, she remained steadfast in her disdain for the First Order. In all honesty, she didn't know what her place in this story was, but perhaps in helping Kylo Ren find his place, her purpose in the galaxy would reveal itself. In thinking of the dark Jedi, an inadvertent smile appeared on her face, and red flashed in her cheeks.

The clock flashed 0100—fuck decorum.

Climbing the three-step ladder, the scavenger girl pulled the handle on the sleeping pod above her own only to find that such action activated a red light illuminating the pod—also, the Supreme Leader was still very much awake. He was laid out diagonally across the mattress pad, but his legs were still forced to bend to properly fit inside. Rising onto his elbows (for he was too tall to sit completely upright in one of these things), his immediate expression was concern. "Can you not sleep?" At the shaking of her head, he scooted along the wall to make room for his beautiful Jedi, inviting her inside.

The acrylic door latched behind her, and with it, the dim red light vanished, leaving the pod in near blackness, the faint green light from the hall barely visible through the door. Immediately, the rhythm of her heart increased, and sensing her distress, Kylo Ren reached for her arm to pull her body towards him. In the blinding darkness, he managed to hit the girl with his open hand right in the chest. They both gave a small laugh as he apologized and guided her further into the pod, taking care to prevent bumping her head against the back wall as he had done at least a dozen times that night.

"Were you not able to sleep either?" she asked.

"I can't ever sleep in these things. They are so constricting, I feel like I'm being stuffed into a burial pod, and any moment they are going to shoot me out into space."

Unable to control her giggles, she replied, "I have never understood you more than I do right now."

"You came to me in a pod half this size, I didn't think you'd have a problem with one of these."

"Okay, one, I came _for_ you, not _to_ you. And two, I was kind of running on adrenaline. Besides, I'm pretty sure I had a mild panic attack during that particular trip."

Rey couldn't see the soft smile on his face but felt his contentment with her company through his gentle stroking of her hair. He understood why Rey opted to keep her hair tied back, especially in battle, but when they were alone, he adored the softness that her loose silky hair gave to her face. She looked like this when she willingly come to the Supremacy to save him from the dark side. Though he may not have left with her that day, her act of kindness did change his heart. He kissed her temple, breathing in her smell. Rey returned her own affection in kisses placed on the pads of each of his fingers.

Soon, they would eliminate Palpatine from the face of the galaxy, and she would be free of his haunting. It was the thought of what came afterward that weighed on the dark Jedi's mind. The New Republic was a mess of bureaucratic red tape in which the wealthiest of persons and planets thrived on the backs of those less fortunate. Even if his grandmother had once fought for democracy in the Senate, it often took years to accomplish even the smallest task. To win votes, favors were bought and traded. An ill-informed populous held the power to elect whatever idiot they saw fit. Justice was never swift, but the aftermath of long drawn out independent investigations. The entire system was corrupt and needed to end. Kylo Ren knew what needed to be done to bring order and justice to the galaxy, and by his blood, he was both a prince and force-sensitive knight, who better to fill such a role?

Rey didn't have to probe the dark Jedi's mind to know what weighed on it. "I've been thinking about that too," she whispered, "about what comes after."

"I'm not sure that I want to ask what you've been thinking. I've played out a dozen scenarios in my head, and they all end with us on opposing sides. I won't lose you again."

"If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said that I wanted to be a Jedi because using the force gave me a sense of control in my life that I had never really had before. I've tried training with the Jedi, first with Luke, and then with Leia, but the light side of the force never really flowed naturally in me. Luke sensed it right away. With all the lore around how honorable the Jedi are, I never imagined the sting of seeing how callous they could be. I don't want to be like that, like them. I don't want to be a mother who tells her son that she cannot love him. But, even though I was tempted by the dark side, first on Ahch-To, and again when you offered me your hand, the cruelty, the anger, and the pain that Snoke caused, I could never be a part of that either. I don't know what role I am supposed to play in all of this, but, the only thing that has ever felt right in my life is being connected with you. I don't know what comes after, but that whatever it is, I know it's with you."

Wrapping his leg over her hips and tightening his embrace, Kylo Ren squeezed his beautiful Jedi against his body. His lips found her forehead, the corner of her eye, her cheek, and finally, her mouth. In their tender kiss, he wanted to show how much he cared for the scavenger girl. In her own volition, she fulfilled his deepest wish, she _wanted_ to stay with him.

After a tender kiss, Kylo Ren took her chin gently in his hand and tilted his beautiful Jedi's head back to give himself access to her neck, which he proceeded to cover in sweet caresses and hot breath while she gasped beneath him. Giving anything to be able to see her face, the dark Jedi was annoyingly forced to rely on her words and physical responses to know if his advances were welcomed. He meant what he said the first time he tried to kiss her, he would not do anything she didn't want. There was once a time where he would have (and in all honestly, nearly did) force himself on her. It the first time they met when she lay helpless in his interrogation chair. That seemed like a lifetime ago, and they both seemed like different people then. She was calloused and bitter, and he was drunk on his illusion of power and entitlement.

Working his way back to her mouth, Rey captured his free hand to hold against her beating heart. She had to be quiet, these pods were not soundproof, and the thought of nearby soldiers hearing their affection was embarrassing…but, not so embarrassing that she wanted him to stop. Tracing her finger along the scar that she had bestowed upon him, Rey followed its path with her lips, pulling the collar of his shirt away to continue her decent. How deep did it go? She couldn't remember. If only her sweet kisses could heal their past and could erase the constant reminder of the first time the dark side of the force raged in her blood, hurting the man she would grow to care so much for.

Wishing this feeling between them could last forever, he filled his kisses with such passion in the hope that Rey would understand how much he longed for every piece of her. Never did he expect, though, that at the parting of their lips, Rey would gently bite down as he pulled away. Leaning in slowly, he began with an open kiss and drinking her in, touched his tongue to the seam of her lips, which trembled beneath him. "Is this okay?" he whispered, pulling away as little as possible to form the words.

"I don't really know what to do," she confessed. In her years on Jakku, many a man had tried to lay their advances on her, and every one wound up with a broken nose at minimum. The scavenger girl had never desired this type of affection from anyone…until now, and lacked any knowledge about the norms of intimacy.

"Just do what feels right for you. And if it ever doesn't feel right, tell me, and we'll stop."

With the pad of this thumb on her bottom lip, he guided her mouth to open and, with another fervent kiss, slid his tongue past her parted lips, which this time, granted him the access he desired. Delighted when her tongue danced with his own, he pulled her body in tighter to his frame. This was bliss, and peace, and passion, and raised every warm emotion inside Kylo Ren. He pressed gently, not trying to win a battle but seeking their union in the sharing of their breath. The heat rose in Rey's cheeks as he explored her mouth, sending electric and delicious sensations down her body. As he pulled away, the scavenger girl tightened her grip on his shirt and pulled his body back to her, practically begging for more.

"Say it." He whispered in her ear. She continued her heavy breathing in his arms and gasped when his lips returned to her neck. "Say it, and I will," he whispered again.

"Again," she whispered into his ear. "Kiss me like that again." Squeezing her body in his arms, he happily granted her request and ardently kissed her with such passion that Rey began to notice a wetness forming between her legs. Ignoring it at first, she tried only to focus on the incredible sensations that Kylo Ren was giving her as he delved inside her mouth. However, as their kisses grew in intensity, so did that wetness.

Unaware of what was happening with her body, she squeezed her legs together tightly, in the hopes that Kylo Ren would not notice. However, his hand began to wander down her side, gliding across her stomach just under her breast, down the front of her leg before returning up the back, and coming to rest on her hip. The slightest brush over the wrong area, and he would know her shame. "My mouth kind of hurts," she lied, giving him one final kiss. "Can we stop, for now?"

Kylo Ren placed one final kiss on her forehead and showed no signs of releasing his hold on Rey. He longed to hold his beautiful Jedi close all night, and was comforted by the thought that every part of Rey would be his, and every part of him would be hers.

* * *

The alarm had startled them both. The dark Jedi groaned in frustration as his head hit the top of the sleeping pod for what had to be the hundredth time that night. The dyad remained surprisingly calm as the strobing red lights and blaring buzzers continued to boom while soldiers made haste towards their stations. The distress in Rey's face was evident as she clutched Kylo Ren's jacket to her chest. She didn't want him to fight the resistance anymore but understood that as Supreme Leader of the First Order, for now at least, he had to. Ignoring the sounds from the COM channel, only white noise filled her ears. The Operators reported that resistance x-wings were inbound and actively firing upon their Command Shuttle. How did they even know a First Order shuttle would be here?

"I know you can take them out easily, but please don't kill them." She requested as he slid on his boots.

"They won't hesitate to kill me."

"But you are better than they are." Rey reminded as he took possession of his jacket. He did not want to leave his beautiful Jedi in such a state. He knew in her heart of hearts she didn't want him to fight the resistance at all, and that she wished the First Order to dissolve like salt in the Ahch-To sea. Earlier that evening, she had confessed to wanting to stay with him, but perhaps neither had fully realized just how difficult that would be. Not wanting her to come to regret her words, he offered the only compromise he could think of.

"I'll disable their ships and take as many of them, prisoner, as I can." It would be much harder to wreck the resistance ships without completely destroying them. But after all, he was the best pilot in the entire galaxy, if anyone could pull off such a stunt, it would be him. Reading a silent "thank you" on her lips, the hatch of his Silencer closed, separating the dyad once more.

Launched out of the back of the Command Shuttle, it didn't take long to survey the extent of his enemy. Three x-wings, scouts, maybe? What were they doing all the way out here? Unless, of course, a resistance command ship was close by. Maneuvering away from the command shuttle, all three enemy fighters refocused their targets onto the dark Jedi. His speed was unmatched, and just as soon as he whipped by one x-wing, he spun about to fire a single blast locked onto the wings of one of the spacecraft. The sudden loss of the left-side engine caused the fighter to turn about wildly as it drifted away. That's one.

An endless barrage of green laser cannons fired at the Silencer, only to have each miss as he rolled through their firing line. Shooting just past their craft, Kylo Ren performed a nauseating 180-degree yaw spin while unleashing his own red laser blasts explicitly focused on the wings, though none made contact. The thinness of the x-wing blades made for challenging targets. Positioning himself dangerously close to his enemy, he forced the pilots to fire in defense without time to consider that their comrade was within range of friendly fire. A sudden blast of speed moved the Silencer out of the way of those damned green laser cannons, which managed to strike off the nose of one of the x-wings.

As the second craft lost control from the sudden loss of its engine, a glance inside the glass cover showed a space helmet and a still very much alive pilot inside. That's two. The final craft sped towards the Silencer only to be shot to pieces by laser blast far more powerful than on the TIE craft. From overhead, the First Order command ship overtook the shuttle and fired its cannons on the defenseless x-wings that had been drifting.

Rey had hoped that Kylo Ren's voice would appear over the COM system, ordering the Command Ship to cease its attack. But, it was Hux's voice that plagued the airwaves. "You seem to be losing your touch Supreme Leader. Normally three little rebel space toys would have been easy work for you."

In their attempt to retreat, Rey stood helpless but to watch the final rebel spacecraft blasted from existence with a silent explosion of fire. Kylo Ren was shouting something across the COM channel, but his voice was stifled by the silence in the air as the incessant voice in her head rang out.

_"It seems your Master is being undermined by those lesser than he. He lacks conviction and is not fit to rule the galaxy. You speak of not knowing your destiny, but it has been defined since before you were born. You will fulfill the role you were born to play and serve me and the return of my reign. I will show the galaxy what it means to rule."_

_"You'll die first. I serve no one."_

_"You're starting to sound like your new Master. Kylo Ren must be having quite the influence on you."_

_"Maybe that's not a bad thing."_

_"When the time comes, he will betray you. I have seen how your place in this story ends, my dear, and it is bleak." The image in her head was that of Kylo Ren, seated on the throne at Exegol, with Rey's lifeless body in a pool of maroon below. With her adeptness in the force, the vision shattered like so much broken glass. Shocked at her ability, Palpatine attempted to sever their connection, only to notice that the scavenger girl had not yet allowed it to close. As his power rose, so did hers. She would need to be destroyed or controlled and quickly. _

_ "I'm tired of playing roles in other people's stories, I think it's time I start writing the script."_

As she closed the connection to Palpatine, the faintest shift of red remained in her eyes.


	8. Chapter 7 - Part 2

**Author's Note:** Here is the second part (only one scene) of what was originally meant to go in Chapter 7. I hope everyone is staying safe!

**Content Warning:** Flashback descriptions of sexual assult.

* * *

Lead and Follow - Part 2

* * *

There was darkness growing inside Rey, and in her core felt that Palpatine was planning something dangerously sinister. She had debated trying to reach out using her force-probe abilities to see the old man's intentions but did not want to risk him taking over her mind again. Especially not now, considering that Kylo Ren was confined in some Officer's command room, giving Hux a verbal lashing in front of the other high ranking leaders.

A few short months ago, a crime of interfering with the Supreme Leader's plans to detain and question the rebel scouts warranted execution. But Kylo Ren insisted on maintaining what little resolve he had. For if Palpatine's fleet did emerge and attack, it would take the entire strength of the First Order to defeat him, and even that may not be enough. Secretly, the scavenger girl wished for the rage to burn inside her dark Jedi once more, that he should haul off and hack Hux to pieces for what he's done…for what he did to her. And with the General's lifeless body rotting away in the lower decks, her dark Jedi would grant her request to leave this damned place together and never look back.

Being a "guest" within the First Order was only tolerable in the first few weeks because confinement to the Supreme Leader's quarters guaranteed she never had to lay eyes on Hux. Though his scathingly annoying voice rang over the COM system often enough, there was a hesitation, a worry, about what would happen when Rey had to come face to face with the General for the first time since their encounter. And with that thought, as fast as a desert windstorm, that terrible memory forced its way into the forefront of her thoughts. Though she was safely tucked away in the Supreme Leader's bed, it was as if she were back in the interrogation room, reliving the humiliation of his cold leather gloves pulling at her clothes, exposing her womanhood. The pain of his thrusts into her body, springing forth streams of blood that ran down between her legs. Her disgrace in being bound to the floor, helpless at stopping that monster from taking the one thing she could never recover, her purity. Curling into a tight ball as she clutched Kylo Ren's pillow to her chest, she tried to breathe in his lingering scent but found her breath short and shallow as tears over what had happened flowed freely once more.

If her virginity were still hers to give, she would have liked to belong to Kylo Ren. That was perhaps the worst part of it all. Hux took away her choice – her choice to give herself to whomever _she_ chose. Rey had imagined that after defeating Palpatine together, she and her dark Jedi would travel to a new world, one that was lush and green, that had an ocean, and mountains, and bright starlit skies at night. And in her dreams, Kylo Ren would finally become her teacher, guiding her through the art of intimacy. The luster of the dream faded away to reveal the fantasy that it was. Would Kylo Ren even want her in that way now that she had been damaged by Hux? If he did, would she ever be able to give herself to him, now that she knew it all ended in pain?

There was, in the back of her mind, lingering resentment toward her dark Jedi, for allowing Hux to live. The lust for revenge was unbecoming of a Jedi, but Kylo Ren was no Jedi and had never shown hesitation in killing anyone. He killed his own father, his Sith master, even his Jedi master (indirectly, of course), all of whom he had cared for at one point in time. If the Supreme Leader could kill those, he once loved, what was stopping him from executing someone he genuinely hated? Another ill-thought crept into the scavenger girl's mind. Though Kylo Ren obviously cared for her now, would he eventually try to kill her too? Shaking her head violently to dispel the thoughts, she recognized the undercurrent of Palpatine's influence feeding the doubt in her mind.

_"You asked the question, my dear. Why would the Supreme Leader of the First Order allow your attacker to live? Allow him to undermine his apparent authority? General Hux deserves to die for his crimes, but Kylo Ren is too weak to carry out the task. It falls to you, my dear. Take your revenge, relieve your suffering, and the suffering of all of those harmed by him." _Sensing her hesitation, he continued._ "Perhaps using such a righteous weapon will ease your conflict."_

His creped and sagging hands held out the broken remains of Luke's lightsaber, the blue kyber crystal cracked in two exposed through the broken metal hilt. The fallen Emperor must have taken it upon Rey's capture. Despite her reluctance, Rey's arm began to extend, and in her palm fell the weight of the saber. She had tried unsuccessfully to repair the saber after the resistance had escaped from Crait. The mechanics of the hilt were one thing; she was skilled enough from her time on Jakku to manage that. But fixing a broken crystal…that was another matter entirely. _"Fix the saber, take your revenge." _Though the connection with her grandfather had faded, the weight in her hands remained. This had to be a trick, and in frustration, tossed the broken saber across the room immune to the loud _clang_ as it bounced off the wall and spun about the floor before becoming still once more. Perhaps though, it was best for Kylo Ren not to see the result of their last fight upon his return. For it was in their force-duel aboard the Supremacy that Luke's saber had shattered. Her feet turned to icicles the minute they touched the cold metal floor, and in the darkness, she found the broken hilt and carefully tucked it beneath the layers of black sleeping clothes within her drawer.

The easiest way to silence the fears in her mind was simply imagining the other half of her dyad. Laying back down in his bed, awaiting his return, she tried to relive those affectionate memories from their shared sleeping pod. The warmth of his breath, the delicious taste of him in her mouth. The strength of his hand as it caressed down her body. Never had she felt so loved and safe. _Safe_…his affections made her feel safe. Surely then, when the time was right, when she was ready to allow him inside of her most private area, he would continue to be as sweet and gentle as he had always been. That he would not push her into doing what she didn't want. That in their most intimate moments, he would continue to make her feel safe and loved. But what to do about that damned wetness between her legs? It had already stopped her from engaging in what had been the most pleasurable experience of her entire life. As his hands drew along her leg, she had been worried that one wrong move, and he would have surely felt her liquid shame. And yet, despite the risk of embarrassment, part of her _wanted_ his hands to wander closer. At the thought of his touch between her legs, that warm sensation filled Rey's body again, and with a quick brush of her fingers, her suspicion was confirmed. Leaving the warm bed once more, the scavenger girl was in need of clean, dry undergarments for the second time.


	9. Chapter 8

**Content Warning:** Explicit sexual descriptions and flashback descriptions of sexual assault

Chapter 8: Fear and Trust

* * *

The command ship's training room alone was probably the size of the Millennium Falcon. Though she had to share the facility with all manner of First Order soldiers and officers, many of them kept their distance as she worked to become more intuned with the force. Contained within the vast facility were a variety of smaller sectioned off arenas, with one exclusively reserved for the Supreme Leader that Rey had made her own. The ceilings were the highest of any room she had seen on the command ship which echoed every vibration when the facility was devoid of people. Through weeks of training, her adeptness was unmatched, even by Kylo Ren. In mere days she had mastered skills that had taken her dark Jedi weeks. Though he would (and did) make it known to all that in terms of hand to hand combat and his piloting skills, the Supreme Leader remained unparalleled. And yet, despite their combined strengths, it never felt like enough to take on the fallen Emperor.

Today, she trained alone while the Knights of Ren and their leader devised plans to visit Exegol undetected in order to gauge how large a fleet Palpatine was threatening the galaxy with. For this exercise, a simple blindfold and a rounded levitating training droid that fired pithy rounds that gave the slightest sting upon contact were all she needed. Sensing the location of the droid, her quarterstaff made quick jabs in the air to strike it down, missing every time. It zipped in all manner of direction and spun about wildly. Even when she made slight contact with the damned thing, its rounds stung at her arms, her core, her face. Determined not to ditch the blindfold this time, she felt the presence of other soldiers observing her. Why were they watching her now? They had never paid much attention before and had always kept a respectable distance away while she trained. Another wild swing, a fisted punch, and well placed (though not well-timed) jab in the air left Rey annoyed and with three more red marks on her skin.

In another part of the facility, several high ranking officers had decided to see if the scavenger girl's "training in service to the dark side" was legit. Though Hux had seen glimpses of that filthy desert trash of a girl from overhanging catwalks and observation decks, the Supreme Leader had spared no expense in keeping them apart. "_Pffft_, I thought children were supposed to be able to do this level of force training," he said to one of the commanding officers beside him. Hux's level of disdain for the scavenger girl matched that of his hatred of the new Supreme Leader. Blessed with force-adeptness in a way that Hux himself could never be brought out his jealous side. Still, he thought himself better than the two of them, for he had to earn every success of his life. Opportunities were often handed to Jedi's and Sith alike simply because they were born with a certain skill. But did that make them smarter, stronger, a better strategist, a better leader? He thought not. The second he could prove that Rey was only acting in the interests of the light side of the force and that Kylo Ren was endorsing it, he would have enough followers within the leadership to stage a coup, execute them both, and assume his rightful place as the new Supreme Leader. "Let's make this more interesting, shall we?" He chuckled. "If she truly did kill Supreme Leader Snoke, then this little exercise should be a piece of cake." On his command, additional training droids were released, their target set to Rey, and instead of pith shots, their lasers had been activated.

Sensing the droid hovering, Rey took the smallest step, just a little to the left….and _bzzt!_ A shot hit the back of her arm. But, that was not possible, she sensed droid in front of her. _Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt! _From every direction, Rey's skin burned at the contact of ultrafast shots from a dozen different lasers. Tempted to pull off her blindfold, Rey focused her mind and spun her quarterstaff above her head, blocking the assault from at least some of the spherical droids while others assaulted her from below.

Using her staff as an anchor, Rey hurled herself into the air and managed to kick one of the droids with such strength that it spiked into the floor and shattered upon impact. In the distance, there was cheering from her spectators. First Order soldiers, though they may be, Rey was fueled by their encouragement and, with a well-timed thrust behind her, made contact with another. Unamused at her feeble victory, Hux turned the dial on the Droid Control Unit, setting the intensity of the laser shots to the highest level.

_ZAP! _Rey lost her balance as the pain throbbed in her knee, and a trickle of blood ran down her calf. It was too difficult to sense their movements, there were too many, they were too fast. Rey's skin stung as it split and bled with each additional hit. Who's sick idea of a joke was this? Hux? Shifting her mind, she sensed his presence, his smug confidence at once again humiliating the scavenger girl. This time though, there was an audience of at least a hundred. If only she had had been able to repair Luke's saber, she would slice that red-headed weasel from navel to nose. _ZAP!_ Though she had attempted several times to repair the saber, each had been in vain. _ZAP!_ She had fixed all the electronics in the hilt just fine – she was clever enough in her tinkering skills. But the saber could not lase with only half a crystal. _ZAP! _Though, even when the crystal was whole, it always seemed to resist her. When her dark Jedi wielded his saber, his movements were fluid, his saber acting like an extension of himself as he made mincemeat of his enemies be they Mustafar tribesman or Praetorian guards. _ZAP! _

Brought to her knees in pain, the chatter of the room fell silent. Through her blindfold, she saw Kylo Ren on the bridge of the ship, his face concealed by black metal and red cracks as he leaned over a projected map of Exegol. As if through pure instinct, she reached into the void, after all, if Palpatine could pass a saber through the force, perhaps it was possible for her to take one as well. Even if it resisted her the way Luke's had, it would be a more than a suitable weapon to shatter the training droids and remove Hux's head from his scrawny body. Sensing her presence, Kylo Ren reached out a hand to the bloody Jedi, but was shocked when she reached not for it, but for his hip. The feeling of the cool metal of his saber against her fingers tips was so real, it was as if she could simply move the weapon to her in this space. _ZAP! _With a swift pull, their connection was broken, yet, the weight in her hand remained. Grasping the hilt in both hands, the blindfolded scavenger girl pivoted around and ignited the fiery blade, causing the entirety of the onlookers, even Hux himself, to step back and gawk in awe.

With a smirk on her face, the Jedi proceeded to slash the saber about, taking out one droid after another and another while the crowd cheered on her effort. This saber felt different, it didn't resist her as Luke's did. Gliding through the air as if an extension of her own arm, sensing where it needed to go and miraculously finding its way there.

As the last droid fell to ground broken, Rey took a moment to catch her breath before pivoting her feet to face Hux. Though still blindfolded, and he nearly 30 meters away, the General's stomach sank to the floor as he felt himself truly in danger for the first time since the Supreme Leader nearly choked the life out of him after the death of Snoke. Pushing the sash to her forehead, she pointed the edge of the blade towards Hux as her feet began their charge towards him. Her grandfather's words rang in her ears, _"Take your revenge!" _and yet, it was not spoken in her grandfather's voice…it was _her_ voice. That sniveling coward retreated into the crowd, distancing himself by forcing nearly a dozen soldiers between them, figuring that her so-called "ethics" would not dare allow her to slice through innocent bystanders.

Showing no signs of slowing, the General shouted, "Why are you just standing there? Stop her!" And yet, all the soldiers, some Stormtroopers stripped free of their white uniforms, others operators, while others still were officers, moved away clearing the path for Rey to make her kill. "I'm not playing this game anymore." Hux declared, and with a press of a button, the Jedi collapsed to the floor in pain, dropping the lit saber at her side, which seemed to have shifted from its normally fiery blaze to a bleeding red. "You traitors will all be shot for this," he declared, pointing his finger across every one of the soldiers in the room.

With piercing red eyes, Rey glared at the General and held out her hand as if to choke the very life from his lungs. He began to gasp and wheeze while Rey seethed and squeezed her fingers tighter. With the press of the activator again, her grip on both Hux and her consciousness were lost.

Walking over to the scavenger girl, Hux debated blasting her dead right then and there. But decided that a would-be Jedi deserved a more "honorable" send off to the afterlife. Picking up Kylo Ren's lightsaber, Hux was nearly giddy that the one weapon he had always been denied was finally in his hands. There was great power in such a weapon, and it deserved to be wielded by an equally great master. Under the ruling of the late Supreme Leader Snoke, the General had secretly hoped that Kylo Ren would be cast aside for the child that he was. Then, he would be promoted to second in command and rewarded with this symbol of strength. However, this blade almost seemed to resist any movement and felt as if it weighed over 20-kg. How did such a puny girl swing it about as if it were nothing? As Hux raised his arm in preparation to strike, the hilt itself seemed to be ripped from his hands, leaving them brush-burned from the friction. Following the trajectory of the floating saber, the raging blade withdrew, and the hilt returned to the rightful hand of its master waiting in the doorway.

* * *

A group of four Stormtroopers escorted Rey from the medical bay back to the Supreme Leader's chambers. Her wounds had been treated quickly enough, but when she asked about removing the compliance disk from her spine, every droid beeped the same answer. "No Such Protocol." Reaching her hand around her back, she felt only skin, knowing that beneath its surface, between her vertebrae, lay that debilitating disk. Perhaps a doctor, not associated with the regiment or the resistance, could find a way to remove this hindrance in her body without leaving her fully paralyzed.

Kylo Ren laid propped up on his couch reading through one of the ancient Jedi texts. Swinging his legs off, he made room for Rey to sit beside him after she had changed. Her body began to shiver as the sudden change in temperature from wearing her warm (albeit filthy and bloody) clothes to fresh sleeping clothes. Taking a seat beside him on that horribly uncomfortable standard-issue couch, she quickly pulled part of his blanket over her lap. Her arms still betrayed her with goosebumps as she folded them across her chest, struggling to hold onto her warmth.

The Supreme Leader could not shake his guilt over what happened to Rey that day. He had taken extensive measures to ensure that General Hux came nowhere near his beautiful Jedi. Though they would eventually have to be in the same room together as they made plans to adventure to Exegol, he had hoped to be there, to offer her whatever support she needed upon facing that monster for the first time. He was, in a sense, relieved that their encounter did not end with her in tears of humiliating defeat, But, the fact that she had every intention to kill the man worried him. Noticing her quick flash of a shiver, his mind was pulled back to the present. "Cold?" He raised his arm, hesitating at first, "may I?" he asked. Following Rey's affirming nod Kylo Ren wrapped his arm around her shoulders, snuggling her body against his own, but not before Rey picked up the hilt of his saber from the table in front of her. Staring at the object in her grasp, she wondered where to even begin in explaining what had happened.

"Luke's lightsaber never really worked for me. It resisted me from the moment I first touched it. I tried Leia's too, and it was the same. But this afternoon, when I held yours, it felt…right. Like it knew exactly what I wanted to do, where I wanted it to be, as if it were an extension of myself. And that scares me, your blade bleeds in submission under the dark side of the force, and _that_ was what felt natural to me."

"Would you have felt more comfortable wielding it if it still glowed blue?" Seeing that his beautiful Jedi was confused by his remark, he explained. "This is the same lightsaber I had since I began training as a child. Kyber crystals are forever intuned with their master, and as I turned to the dark side, I forced the glow of my crystal to shift to red. I modified the hilt too, so that I would have a crossbar because I thought it would look pretty fucking badass." Rey chuckled at his remark. He may have favored a crossbar, but if she could design her own saber, it would be long like her quarterstaff, with a blade on both ends. But for the practicality of travel, it would easily fold in half. Also, she had noticed that his blade began to glow more orange than red these days. "Since we are a dyad, it only serves that you would feel comfortable wielding my saber. But before we fight Palpatine, you really do need one of your own. We can build it together, I'll help you." Rewarding his offer with a kiss on the cheek, Rey wrapped her arms around his body. "Will you tell me what happened today?"

Confiding in her dark Jedi, the scavenger girl recounted her training exercise gone awry. Though she did not need to explain her hatred for Hux, it was her innermost desire to kill him that had her worried too. She had never desired to kill anyone with such rage as she held for that man. Then, the question that been looming in the back of her mind for weeks made its way to her lips. "Why did you," she hesitated. "Why did you let him live? I've seen you kill many for lesser crimes, and yet," she paused, determined not to cry, "and yet you let him go with nothing more than a bloody nose."

Placing his hand on her face, he gently brushed his thumb along her cheek, pushing back a single tear that has escaped her hazel eyes. "I wanted to kill him, Rey. It took damn near everything in me not to. But that kind of killing, the personal kind, the kind grounded in revenge and hatred, that is what leads you down the path the dark side. If I had done it, I would still be the monster you feared and hated when we first met in the forest. But I couldn't let you kill him either. If I had that day, you would have turned. You were nearly there already, a single passionate kill was all that separated you from becoming a true sith apprentice. But it's haunting, Rey, that kind of murder, it haunts your soul. I couldn't let that happen to you."

"So, he just gets away with everything he's done?"

"Once Palpatine is defeated, and we have no use for him, I plan on making him spend the rest of his days rotting in some prison cell where he can meditate for eternity on his actions. But either of us killing him puts us deeper on the path to the dark side."

"Does that mean," she bit her bottom lip, searching for the words, "you're abandoning the dark side of the force?"

"I suppose so. I can't say that I feel intuned with the light or anything, but the dark side of the force is becoming more distant in my soul and have no desire to serve it if it means risking losing you." Pressing his forehead to her own, he flashed a quick smile. "You have no idea how much I care about you, Rey."

"I think I have some idea." She smiled before closing her eyes and allowing herself to melt in his embrace as his lips found hers. Kylo Ren leaned away, only for a second, to dim the lights leaving them in near darkness. He could still see her face when she was close to him, but the rest of her body remained a mystery hidden in the blackness. Holding her face in both his hands, he started with only a few gentle kisses before opening his mouth over her own and giving her the deep affection that she had so enjoyed the night they traveled back from Mustafar.

In their current position, they both had to twist to face each other, and it didn't take long for Rey to desire a change to relieve the pain building in her side. Pulling at her hips, the dark Jedi guided her to lay across his lap. Though her torso was adequately supported by the arm of the couch, one arm remained wrapped around her shoulders while the other had found its way under her knees, tenderly brushing the backs of her legs. Content with being able to hold his beautiful scavenger girl so close, he proceeded to kiss her neck, loving her small gasps and the curling of her fingers along his back every time he lapped his tongue across her skin or gently sucked during a kiss. The scavenger girl was lost in the bliss that he was giving her, for there was no better feeling in the galaxy than that of Kylo Ren's affection.

As if predicting her desires, the dark Jedi's hand had escaped from beneath her knees and begun to gently slide down the tops of her legs before rotating along the side and gliding up to her hips. Finding the space between her sleeping shirt and pants, each pad of his fingers found its way to the bare skin of her side. She was soft and warm, and he longed to explore every inch of his beautiful scavenger girl. Her own hands were busy, once more pulling at the collar of Kylo Ren's shirt to reveal his scar and cover it in sweet kisses. Feeling the raised pink skin beneath her fingertips, she traced its pattern through his shirt, unable to remember how far down it traveled. Eager to entertain her exploration, the dark Jedi shed his sleeping shirt, tossing it to the ground. The heat of his smooth skin was amazing as she rested her body on his. Finally free to trace the remains of that wound down to its base, she asked, "Does it still hurt?"

"No – not anymore. I suppose a normal person would wish their imperfections away, but this," he said placing her hand atop the scarred skin on his chest, "this reminds me how disillusioned I was by the dark side, and how you were really the first person to get through to me."

Though her hands had started with only tracing the outline of his scar, they began to wander, feeling the strength of her dark Jedi in his arms, his chest, his core, and found herself wanting to kiss each little scratch that his body still harbored. With his thumb gently rocking up and down the front of her hip, Rey had noticed that the sensation between her legs was growing once more. It wasn't just the wetness, it was a desire to be touched and to be filled in a way that she couldn't quite explain. Allowing her head to rest on his shoulder, her legs inadvertently began to open, and taking his cue perfectly, the dark Jedi returned his attention there, and stroked the inside of her thighs, always stopping just short of where Rey longed for his hands to go. He would surely feel her wetness, but damn it, she didn't care. Deciding to be the bravest she had ever been in her life, she whispered in his ear, "Ren….touch me….please"

Somewhat astonished by the words he had just heard, the dark Jedi paused for a moment to gaze into her eyes. She meant it, and this thought delighted him as he cracked a soft smile and pressed his forehead to her own. "I'll go slow, and I'll be gentle," he whispered. "But if it is ever too much, tell me, and I'll stop."

As his hands wandered down, they pushed just a little harder while approaching that space between her legs. His once sweet kisses turned feverish, and Rey allowed her head to fall, taking in every touch of his lips. With her back arched, her eyes shot open in the dark as she gasped at the sensation of his hand coming to rest on her most private area. True to his word, with only two fingers, he rubbed her gently as the scavenger girl released the smallest pleasurable sigh, igniting a smile across the dark Jedi's face. Moving to the band of her pants, his fingers snuck their way inside, feeling the tops of her undergarments. Though he had long awaited this level of intimacy with his beautiful Jedi, and wanted so much to simply undress her right then, tonight was not about him. This was about allowing the woman before him to feel every bit as beautiful as she was.

Tracing her legs along the line of her panties, he stroked the inside of her thighs before returning to his gentle back and forth along her womanhood. Not wanting to cause the scavenger girl any distress, he whispered in her ear to ask if he could go further, to which a simple nod and a kiss served as reply. Feeling her wetness through that last layer of clothing between them, delighted by her arousal, he felt his own growing in tandem. As his fingers peeked through the legs of her panties to touch her, they had barely made contact with her slit before her eyes shot open and forcing his hand away she sprung from his lap buckling over on the floor.

It happened so incredibly fast she never saw it coming. At the instant of his touch, the memory of the pain of what was to come next flooded Rey's mind. This wasn't fair – she _wanted_ Kylo Ren to touch her, she _asked_ for him to, and now had dramatically rejected his affections all because of those terrible memories. Kneeling beside her on the floor, with only a look of concern upon his face, he rubbed her back. Allowing her to take the time she needed, he professed that he wasn't going anywhere, that they didn't have to do anything more, and that she owed him no explanation if it was too painful to talk about.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I thought I was ready, but…I guess Hux did more damage than I realized."

"Don't apologize – you've done nothing wrong."

"I guess I am just afraid because now I know how much it's going to hurt, like physically." Hurt? It wasn't supposed to hurt. The first few times might be a bit uncomfortable for a woman, but….then his mind arrived at the suspected conclusion. Rey had never been sexually intimate with a man before, she didn't know what to expect except that which Hux provided—pain. Having to swallow even more anger for that man, Kylo Ren needed a moment before he could suppress his dark urges to murder the General in his sleep.

"Rey, aside from what happened that day, have you ever been with someone like this?"

Shaking her head through her silent tears, she replied, "No. I'd hoped to save that for someone I truly loved, someone I trusted. I didn't really know it back then, but if it were still mine to give, I would have wanted to give it to you. To be only yours. I feel like he knew it too. He wanted to ruin me for you."

"You _are_ mine, Rey. You are my beautiful scavenger girl, my sweetest Jedi, and nothing that Hux has done or could ever do would ruin you for me. My soul already belonged to you, from the day we first shared our connection through the force, my heart belonged to you the day you came to save me from Snoke, and all the rest of me is yours – for whenever _you_ are ready to take it."

A smile had managed its way onto Rey's face as she looked into her dark Jedi's eyes. A dyad in the force, each belonging to the other, and in that thought, she found comfort that dispelled her fear that Kylo Ren would reject her in that most intimate way. He will never be her true first, but he would be the one and only man in the galaxy that she was willing to give herself to.

"And as for the pain, when you do it correctly, it shouldn't hurt at all. It should feel like the most amazing thing in the entire galaxy. It hurt then because you were not ready, and your body was not ready. Hell, you probably weren't even the slightest bit wet."

"You mean that wetness is supposed to happen?"

Giving a soft laugh, he pulled his naïve little scavenger girl into an embrace, "It means that you are turned on, and your body is ready to be touched inside."

"Then, I think I've wanted you to touch me since we traveled back from Mustafar," she confessed. "Can we try again? I know this might seem crazy, but you give me this feeling, this wanting. I want to know what it feels like to be touched by the legendary Kylo Ren." The stroke to his ego worked brilliantly, for within seconds, he had scooped up her body and carried her to his bed.

Placing her across his lap as he had done before, he allowed his hands to wander across her body as she explored the delicious taste of his mouth with her tongue. Working back to her most private area, he squeezed her womanhood gently through her clothes and received an affirming nod inviting him to continue. With his fingers beneath her pants, he stroked the inside of her legs. She was so warm, and even the lightest brush over her undergarments told him that she was wet with desire. Squirming with pleasure, her breath deepened as he continued to work his way ever closer to that special place between her legs. Tracing along the edges of her panties, Kylo Ren was always just close enough to where Rey thought he may work his way inside them, but would always back away to her thighs. Continuing to squirm in his arms and release sweet moans, she would have given anything for the tips of his fingers to wander just…a little…further.

"I need you to trust me for this next part, okay?" Tugging at the top of her pants, he requested, "help me take these off." Raising her own hips up, Kylo Ren's soft smile stayed permanently affixed to his face at the notion that she truly trusted him with this most special part of her. Slowly pushing down her pants he exposed her womanhood to the cool air of the room. Holding onto his body for support, Rey helped him push her garments away until they reached her knees, and thought that that might be enough. But, Kylo Ren continued to drive them down to her ankles and eventually slid them off entirely before casting them to the floor. The length of her shirt covered her enough to keep her comfortable (he hoped) but, he wanted Rey to distance his actions from that of Hux as much as possible.

Rey was anxious as she rested her weight back onto Kylo Ren's lap. She trusted him, but all this was so new that she couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness. The second he touched her any closer than he had before, he would feel her wetness; and though he insisted it was a wonderful thing, she still couldn't help but be slightly repulsed. With legs trembling as they opened for her dark Jedi, the scavenger girl reminded herself of his words. If ever it was too much, he would stop.

His warm hand on her knee calmed her quivering limbs and encouraged her to open wider. Holding her tightly against his frame, Kylo Ren swore to himself that he would exert the greatest amount of patience he had ever known and reminded her again that if she ever wanted to stop, to simply say the words. As his fingertips worked their way down the inside of her thigh, she melted into him, and let out the smallest gasp when they finally arrived upon her most sensitive area.

With just his middle finger, he touched outside first, delighted to feel that she was so wet with desire for him. This surely will make penetration more comfortable and more pleasurable for her when it was time. For now, he gently pressed at every spot between her legs, lingering on the places that make her shiver or moan. He avoided her opening at first, wanting her to become comfortable with his touches. Besides, Rey's favorite spot was just above her opening, and even the light press caused her to make the most wonderful noises.

Resting his middle finger on her slit, he traced small circles around it as he returned his lips to hers. Deepening his kiss, he pushed his finger just barely inside her, then a little more, and a little more. She was so deep and warm and wet and had never looked sexier as she bit her bottom lip taking deep breaths as he entered her. Once inside, he felt her muscles contract to his touch and slowly slid his finger out. Returning inside when she relaxed, he again slid out as her muscles contracted. Keeping this rhythm was easy, and he added to her pleasure by kissing her neck and gently sucking on her as his fingers withdrew. He himself was instantly turned on by the feel of her, and her almost instinctive reaction to his touch. Shifting her body down, just an inch, he positioned her such that her skin and his arousal were only separated by his clothing. The feel of his hardness growing beneath her seemed to heighten her passion even more. With her fingers entwined in the black strands of his hair, the scavenger girl was conflicted between wanting to both raise her body up to kiss him and melt into is arousal as he caressed her.

Adding his ring finger, he pushed both inside and bending them slowly, pressed on her most tender internal spot, and delved his tongue inside her mouth when she gasped. Sliding in and out, he pressed his palm firmly against the outside of her, knowing how much her body delighted in his gentle squeezes. Adding his thumb, it pressed on all the spots of her opening that made her moan with pleasure. The strength of warmth and pressure building inside Rey was nothing she had ever known. She shuddered against him, her legs quaking, and her heart racing as those electric sensations coursed through her entire body. Clenching her muscles tighter, Rey's back began to arch as Kylo Ren pressed more firmly with his every delicious movement inside her and out. It happened in an instant, every ounce of her body tingled as she flushed into such sweet release. Her limbs were heavy and numb, and she allowed her dark Jedi to support her body as her every muscle relaxed.

Listening for Rey's breath and heartbeat to slow, Kylo Ren continued to occasionally kiss her forehead or squeeze her hand. "We should get you cleaned up," he said, lifting Rey to let her climb out of his lap. She stretched out along the bed, rolling onto her stomach, nearly ready to fall asleep. Upon his return, which took oddly longer than expected, she thought he would simply hand her a washcloth, but instead, whispered, "may I?" in her ear. Rolling onto her back and opening her legs for him once more, he cleansed her body with the warm cloth before finishing with a kiss on the inside of her bare thigh.

"You were gone for a long time." Rey yawned.

"I had to take care of something." Pulling on his arms, inviting him to share his bed once more, he, ever willing, joined her. Rey did think it was odd that his hardness that grew beneath her body from before had gone. Was that what he took care of? Unable to hold onto thought any longer, her mind drifted to sleep. Staring into the darkness above him, feeling Rey's warmth as she slept snuggled by his side, Kylo Ren allowed himself to admit to the sleeping Jedi, that he wasn't just bound by the force with Rey, he was in love with her.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Loyalty and Betrayal

**Author's Note:** 5/13 the chapter has been updated/expanded - special thanks to BrokenMentality for letting me bounce ideas off of you and get some inspiration to make this a better chapter. :)

* * *

Rey had begun work on the hilt of her new saber, designed in the way she had envisioned, after her quarterstaff. But for ease of traveling, the clever Jedi added a switch to that allowed the folded base to spring open into a long rod. It took a few iterations, for sometimes the spring would stick or in one case it just went off on its own, jumping to life and causing her heart to skip a beat. The armory workshop was her studio, and aside from the Knights, no one came in to bother her while she worked. The armory, unlike the rest of the ship, was poorly lit. Whoever worked on developing new weaponry or engines for their TIE craft must have either been born blind or were driven to it by these conditions. Pulling the overhead light down as close to the table as its base allowed, Rey had to squint to see the tiny inlets destined for her screwdriver. Dropping the tool to the ground for the thousandth time, the loud _clang_ echoed throughout the open room where metal drawers and metal doors rattled, echoed, and amplified every little sound.

Once the mechanics of her hilt were worked out, she would show Kylo Ren the remains of Luke's saber and ask for his help in repairing the two shards of the kyber crystal. Though many parts of her force training came naturally to her, she lacked the knowledge of repairing a crystal that seemed to only fight her will. Not only did Kylo Ren possess the skill needed to fix that force-sensitive material, Rey wanted her newly designed quarterstaff-weapon to feel as natural in her dark Jedi's hands as his fiery blade felt in hers. When she held his saber in her hands that day, in the training facility, it was as if the Supreme Leader were there with her. She felt the balance in the force – that undercurrent of both peace and passion that felt so fundamentally right…at least until she had turned to set her sights on Hux. Then, only rage ensured, and his saber was more than willing to burn red and catalyze her attack. Though his living crystal was more than cooperative in her fury, each time Rey had succumb to the power of the dark side of the force, Kylo Ren took yet another step back to being Ben Solo. His once rare displays of compassion, care, and love towards his beautiful Jedi had become their norm behind closed doors. Even after Rey had regained control of herself in the light, he never regressed back to those darkest tendencies of lusting for power and revenge. He would never be true Jedi again, his soul had begun to find a balance somewhere between the light and dark. She hoped one day, once Palpatine was destroyed, to establish that balance in herself rather than having to rely on the other half of her dyad to pull her back from the darkest edges of the force.

Rolling the two broken pieces of kyber crystal with the palm of her hand, the scavenger girl recognized that twinge of guilt in keeping this secret from her dark Jedi. Maybe tonight she would tell him, even if her hilt wasn't ready yet. Although she had never outright lied, something didn't feel right about keeping this a secret from the other half of her dyad. She just had to make sure he was in the right frame of mind, for he had been extra stressed in the past few days since hearing that there was a mole within the First Order feeing key information to the Resistance troops. Generals Hux and Pryde were both quick to insist that the spy had to be Rey. After all, she was a genuine member of the resistance, a key member in fact, not too long ago. Unlike the Supreme Leader, the rest of the First Order high ranking officers had not known that in her heart of hearts, she had abandoned the cause. Kylo Ren assured them that her personal training was going splendidly, as evidenced by her performance in the previous week within the training facility. "The girl is loyal only to me. Under my orders, she slaughtered those indigenous Mustafar vermin. At my command, she has increased both her physical and mental training. By the grace of Snoke's training, I was able to kill Han Solo without hesitation. By the grace of mine, she will slaughter the leaders of the resistance and bring this ridiculous war to an end."

"Then you mean for her to truly become your Sith apprentice, sir?" Pryde asked.

"I don't _just_ intend for her to be my apprentice, General. I intend to make her my bride. Once her training is complete, she will be presented to ranks of the First Order."

"Supreme Leader, if I may," Hux began as Kylo Ren rolled his eyes beneath his mask. "Your bloodline is noble. You're a prince by birth and the grandson of the great Darth Vader. Why reduce yourself to a political union with a common scavenger?"

General Pryde quickly pipped in, "While it is true that her heritage is…_less_ than desirable, the skills she has shown rival that of the late Supreme Leader Snoke, who I might remind you, she _killed_. Power deserves power, and with two force-wielding rulers, no one would dare challenge the strength of the First Order. Besides, she was once a rebel, surely her becoming a leader in our ranks would help sway the hearts of the people who have otherwise been…hesitant. Besides, there are the rumors to consider."

"What rumors?" The Supreme Leader asked, intrigued.

"Why, that your apprentice is actually a descendent of the late Darth Sidious. You are the grandson of Vader; she the granddaughter of Sidious. The power of the dark side is in your bloodlines, practically your inheritance."

_Hrmph! _Hux was annoyed but decided to let the matter drop. Palpatine or not, he would prove that Rey had not yet abandoned the light and that Kylo Ren was no more fit to rule the First Order than a neutered dog.

"I would suggest," Pryde continued, "that we take advantage of this union strategically. Our forces are stretching to the edges of the galaxy, but there are still those who would believe that the resistance has the strength to save them. Showing the combined strength of our Supreme Leader and his protégé on the battlefield, their mastery of the dark side of the force, destroying with those who would resist us, would provide a useful demonstration as to the consequences of rebellion."

"And just _when_ would you suggest her coronation take place?" The annoyance in Hux's voice was quickly approaching the level of disgust. It was bad enough he, the leader of the largest fleet in the history of the galaxy, had to answer to a tantrum-throwing child. But now, to suggest that Kylo Ren take that filthy scavenger scum as his bride…well, filth begets filth. No matter, he would deal with them both soon enough.

"Tomorrow."

Both Kylo Ren and Hux's eyes widened in disbelieve, and for the first time in their history, looked at each other for reassurance that they had heard Pryde correctly. What could they say? Hux needed to stall, such an arrangement for his own plans were already in motion and would be derailed with such a ceremony. Kylo Ren had offered Rey his hand once, only to have her reject it and catapult them both into months of pain before they could be reunited. He always intended to offer her his hand again, but not…not like this.

"The girl needs her own lightsaber. She's been working with my Knights to build the hilt, but currently lacks a living core. Obtaining such a core is a critical part of her training in the dark side, one that I will tolerate no interference with. Make new arrangements, General." he said, rising from his chair to exit to the room.

* * *

Looking out over the hangar, final preparations were being made for upgrades to the Supreme Leader's Silencer as well as a ground-up manufacturing of a second that he had commissioned explicitly for the scavenger girl. At the General's insistence, Rey's ship was modified such that the controls could be overridden remotely by either Kylo Ren's craft or the main command ship. Though a skilled pilot, the mechanics of his fighter were never of interest or concern to the dark Jedi. He hoped that Rey knew enough of the mechanics to hack the system and disable the remote control from the command ship. Until Rey's mind was free of her grandfather, it was probably best that he still be able to control her ship remotely – at least for the time being.

Now, what to do about their union? The night they traveled back from Mustafar, she confessed that her future was with the dark Jedi. Staring at his black leather glove, he remembered how she had nearly taken his hand before, the hesitation in her eyes and the shaking of her hand as she reached out towards him only to pull for Luke's damned lightsaber instead. He remembered the sorrow in her eyes when she regretted that very decision while being held prisoner by the fallen Emperor. The bond in their dyad was strong enough now, he did not need the symbolic notion of a formalized union to show his love for the scavenger girl, to open his heart to her, to be intimate with her. No words could express the warmth in his heart when Rey showed complete trust in him; and allowed him…encouraged him…to touch her in that most intimate way. That was the third time they shared a bed, and their dyad continued to do so every night since. The insomnia that once plagued his wrought mind could do no harm when he spooned his beloved's body against his own, breathing in the very smell of her. They trusted each other, and if he explained that this was simply for show, that her place by his side in public sphere served only to quiet the growing voices of concern for her presence, she would understand – he hoped.

And yet, that wasn't what was really worrying him. The core of his fear was that he no longer desired to rule. The First Order, the Resistance, the war, it was all so pointless now. He wanted only to free his beloved from the hauntings of her past and would blissfully spend the rest of his days with her living their lives away from all of this. The fantasy that becoming the most powerful being in the galaxy, ruling the First Order, or that mastery of the dark side of the force would quell his loneliness and absolve his sins had been smashed by Rey. It was in her that his soul found peace, and the temptations of the dark side and the promises of the light were equally vanquished. But he was too entrenched within the First Order and too hated by the Resistance to simply walk away now.

_"My dear boy, for someone who fought so hard to climb the ladder of success, you are too easily willing to give up the prize," the deep echoed voice of the fallen Emperor began._

_"I found something greater than power. Something you could never hope to understand."_

_"Love? Heh. My dear boy, love is an illusion. Vader's love could not save Padm__é, your mother's love could not save you, and the love you have for that girl won't save her either."_

_"You know nothing of what I feel for her."_

_"Perhaps. But I know her feelings, and they are not commensurate with yours. Even as we speak, she seeks to repair the saber of your betrayer, Luke Skywalker. Or has she not told you, that hidden within her drawers of sleeping clothes she keeps his weapon?"_

_"I'm done listening." Focusing his meditations, the dark Jedi sought to sever his connection with the Sith lord._

_"What is it you fear more? Finding that your beloved lies to you, or living the rest of your life, wondering if her displays of affection are just as hollow as your mother's?"_

_"I said, I'm done listening!" _With all his strength, the dark Jedi raised his mental shields and found that the voice in his head had faded away.

Damn him, what was that old man trying to prove? Rey had no weapon when he rescued her from the Senate. And even if she did have that damned thing, this was not a secret she would keep from him…was it? Shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all, Kylo Ren continued with his objectives for the day. And yet, that tiny little seed of doubt never entirely left the back of his mind.

Finding himself back in his quarters, Rey had not yet returned from the armory. Imagine, Luke's saber hiding in his very chambers, how absurd! Still, there was no harm in looking through her drawer, right? No! Snoke fed on his doubt that anyone in his family cared for him, he was not about to let Sidious foster doubt about Rey in his mind. Then again, if she had nothing to hide, his investigation would be harmless, wouldn't it? His body moved almost without thought, her drawer slid open with ease, and her sleeping clothes were all carefully folded inside.

In looking down at her drawer, Kylo Ren was confronted with his own weakness. There was never going to be a saber, it wasn't about that. The dark Jedi had succumbed to his doubt in Rey, precisely as the Emperor had wanted. His beloved had shown so much trust in him, and yet, he could not hold on to this tiny little piece of trust in her? He truly was the lesser person in their dyad. Now, the Supreme Leader was going to have to live with the guilt that he went exploring Rey's private drawer. As the drawer closed, the _clang_ of metal on metal rung inside Kylo Ren's ears. Pulling the handle once more, with eye clenched tightly, his fingers dipped between her folded shirts and the cool metal side of the drawer and found their way around the found hilt of his uncle's lightsaber.

* * *

Standing outside their chamber door, Rey looked once more at the two broken pieces of kyber crystal in her palm. It was time she told her beloved about the saber. Walking down the metal stairs, her heart sank at the sight of her dark Jedi – clearly distressed to the point of his head resting in the weight of his hands whilst his eyes looked only at the floor. Descending from the last of the metal stairs, her stomach dropped, and the very air in her lungs seemed to vanish at the sight of Luke's hilt sitting on the table in front of the Supreme Leader. His dark eyes were full of hurt, of betrayal, and manifested in just a single tear that he quickly pushed from his face while taking in a deep breath. "I'd ask you if you knew anything about it," he started, "but that look on your face, I already know the answer."

Taking a seat by his side, the scavenger girl found herself at a loss for the words. She should have told him the day it happened. Rey was able to trust Kylo Ren with so many parts of her, why then was this one stupid thing so complicated? Why didn't she just tell him before? How did he even find it? Palpatine? Taking his gloved hand, she asked, "Who told you?"

"Not the person who should have." The sting of his words caused her to wince. Watching her struggle for what to say, if anything, he probed, "How long?" Looking at him for more guidance, he added, "how long have you had this here?"

"About a month, right after we had come back from Mustafar."

"A month, Rey? Seriously?" he bolted from the couch and paced about the room as the scavenger girl tried to explain.

"Palpatine sensed doubt in my mind and latched onto it, fed it, to the point where I still haven't entirely shaken it. I knew the second he gave me that damned thing that it was a trick, but I didn't want to show you until I knew it wouldn't hurt you…or us. Clearly, that backfired."

"it's not just you – he did it to me too." The dark Jedi confessed, sounding as angry at himself as he was with Rey for keeping this secret. "I never would have found the damn thing if I had just been strong enough to resist the temptation. I tried to justify to myself by saying that everyone in my life had betrayed me at some point or another, why should you be any different?"

"Ren – please. I intended to spare you pain, not cause it. I was going to tell you about it tonight to ask for your help in fixing the core. That way, I can have a weapon too, and we can stop him together."

Sweeping up the hilt, Kylo Ren let out a long sigh. "When I became Snoke's apprentice, I swore to myself that one day I would cut Skywalker from the face of existence. That I would take his saber as my prize and mount it on my wall as proof of my victory. And for all of my effort, the first time I held it in my hands, it was at the cost of my lack of faith." Confronting her dark Jedi, with hand extended, the two pieces of crystal fall into his palm. "This thing has been nothing but misery for the both of us, why fix it?"

"You have a weapon, and a title, and power protecting you. What do I have?" It was rhetorical before the Supreme Leader could reply, she continued, the volume of her voice rasing as her emotions amplified and the slightest twinge of crimson flashed in her eyes. "I need to be able to fight Palpatine, to defend myself against Hux, to not feel so fucking helpless all the time!"

"Rey, I would never,"

"You couldn't stop him before! You gave me some bullshit answer about why you couldn't kill him, why it was for my own good, but let's be honest with each other, shall we? You won't risk anything that threatens your position as Supreme Leader." The red in her eyes was unmistakable. "You know the ways of the Force, you killed Snoke, and yet you can't do away with that weasel after what he did to me? You disgust me!"

"Rey – that's enough!" Trying to pull her into an embrace to calm her, the scavenger girl hissed at his touch and with her hands like claws scratched the Supreme Leader across the face while reclaiming the two pieces of her kyber crystal. Taken aback by her reaction, tears flooded his eyes as he attempted to see clearly. Closing her hand around the shards, she breathed deeply as the power of the dark side flowed in her veins.

"Hux deserves to die for what he did, so does Palpatine, and I can't even look at you without thinking about either of them. I will do what you were too weak to do yourself. I will prove that I was always the stronger of the two of us. I bested you in the forest when I had never before held a lightsaber. You will never be anything more than a child in a mask." A bright red glow leaked from her tightly gripped fingers. "I will bring justice to this galaxy. I will destroy those who would harm others and who would let them live without consequence." Those words…they were Snokes words…Darth Sidious' words. Rey was no longer in control. Every time that Kylo Ren thought they were able to get past that damned day, it manifested itself in some other part of Rey's mind. Even in her deranged state, his heart held compassion for the girl. She was powerful enough to kill a Sith lord, and yet was afraid of a weasel like Hux? Nothing, not her training, her quarterstaff, her use of the force, even the companionship of her dyad had quelled her fear that it may happen again. He saw through her façade, the demand for the General's head wasn't about justice, or vengeance, this was seated in fear that what happened once could happen again and that she, the strongest Jedi in the galaxy, wouldn't be able to stop it.

If Rey used those bleeding crystals to finish her weapon, pulling her back to the light would be damn near impossible, for Palpatine's hatred fueled those shards and would continue to fuel Rey. Needing to get her to leave them behind, he looked to his hip. With any luck, the attunement of his saber with Rey would be broken if it were not truly Rey wielding it. Hoping his saber would resist her, and the dissonance would remind the red-eyed creature that their dyad was what brought her soul peace – not raw, untamed power.

Taking the saber from his belt and tossing it to Rey, he would still not offer his support. For the sake of his deception, perhaps he just needed to pretend that he wouldn't interfere at all. "Then do it. Kill him if you want, I won't stop you. But his death won't bring you any solace. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. I'd hoped to spare you from it." Looking to the Supreme Leader for signs of deceit, he shouted, "Go!" throwing his hand towards the door, as if to call her on her some sort of bluff. But this dark Rey was not bluffing at all and dropping the two useless crystal shards to the ground while grinning wickedly at the crossbar hilt in her hand.

Once the doors of their quarters had sealed, Kylo Ren fell to his knees, palms outstretched over the glowing rubies. With labored breath, he focused his effort to heal these bleeding shards. If he were to stop Rey, he needed a weapon of his own, and using these crystals as is was practically inviting the dark side of the force to reclaim his soul. As much as he pushed, the dark side pushed back stronger. Too much time was passing, Rey would need mere minutes to locate Hux. "I need help." The dark Jedi gasped, exhausted from his effort. "Skywalker….Vader…help me save her!" Only silence filled the void as he pushed his will onto the shards trying to drive the dark force from them like some manner of exorcism only to have the darkness pull the very living force from his body, fueling its bleeding power. Luke had once told him that no one was ever really gone, yet for all of his prayers to his grandfather, for all of his desperate pleadings into the void, it was only ever Rey who answered him. "Uncle…Grandfather…Dad….please."

The weight of hands on his hands pressed firmly into the crystals, the voice of his uncle rung in his ears. _"You are trying to bend it to your will, but Sidious' will is stronger. Use the living force, Ben. Heal the crystal the way you healed the girl." _

_"I'm not strong enough alone."_

_"We're family kid, we do it together."_

* * *

Rey's piercing red eyes caused many of the Stormtroopers along her route to duck into nearby hallways or avoid her gaze. Several had told her against their will the location of the General in the command ship's throne room, her sights were set only on Hux and those who would get in her way.

Hux sat perched upon Kylo Ren's thone, king to an empty room, fantasizing how soon he truly would be viewed as in regarded as the Supreme Leader of the First Order, the most powerful man in the entire galaxy. This throne room was modeled after that of Snoke's aboard the Supremecy with crimson paneled walls. Along the far wall was a COM table with a hundred screens, each showing various parts of the ship from hangars and the bridge to common mess halls.

Snoke never made proper use of his throne room, for often only his guards, Kylo Ren, or Hux himself would ever appear before the late Leader. And Kylo Ren, _pffft_, the man was too busy fucking that filthy junk trader or galavanting across the galaxy to hold a proper court. Armitage Hux, however, would be a very public leader of the First Order. He could see it now – formations of soldiers hanging on his every word, looking to him for inspiration, for leadership, just as they once done aboard the Starkiller Base. His actions would be consistent, not irrational and out of a blatant of self-control; his execution, numerous, swift, and before the people, so that there would be no doubt in anyone's mind who was in charge. Kylo Ren may have affirmed the title of Supreme Leader, but never the responsibilities. His talents were best served as a grunt for Snoke – sent to carry out small military missions, assassinations, and the like.

The air-filled hiss of the elevator doors parting filled the room. At the sight of that snake upon the throne, the scavenger girl with her piercing red eyes ignited the dark Jedi's blade, which burned nearly as red as the shards she had discarded in her chambers. Something was wrong though, this once compliant extension of the force now seemed to resist her much the same way Luke's saber had always done. She would have been better off completing her quarterstaff, for those crystals were broken and bled to her will. Still, Kylo Ren's blade would be fine to finish off that snake of a General.

Wasting no time, Hux reached for the activator only to have Rey use the force to pull the remote to her and smash it to pieces beneath the heel of her boot. "You can't hide behind your activator or your threats to the Supreme Leader. Today, I finish my training in the dark side of the force—with you."

Positioned between Hux and the only viable exit- the elevator, the rat sunk into the throne with a hard gulp. Even if he tried to run to the COM system, her speed would grace her the ability to hack him to pieces before he was halfway there. Rey approached in a slow taunting walk, knowing that her prey was cornered. Reaching for his blaster, a swift strike of the saber deflected blow after blow. Nervously backing away from the throne, Hux tripped backward, continuing to scoot away to the furthest stretches of the room as Rey continued her menacing approach. There was another way out, a door in the wall panel just behind the throne, but surely this mad woman would simply follow him.

Rey was nearly two-thirds of the way to him, her wicked smile grinning ear to ear when blaring throughout the room she heard the boom of her name echoing throughout the room accompanied by the hiss of the elevator doors. Turning only her head, the image her dark Jedi walked into the main of the room – his mask left behind, and in his hands, her newly designed quarterstaff with both ends humming and glistening in the faintest yellow light.

"Come to join me?" She smiled and held out her hand. "We can end him together."

"A year ago, I stood where you are and offered my hand. I wanted you to join me in the dark side of the force, and together we would rule the galaxy." He paused, remembering the pain of that day. "But, you didn't give in."

"I was wrong then." Her voice remained eerily calm with a smile on her face. Of all the times that Kylo Ren had seen her rage and fight, he knew deep down her soul battled with Palpatine's. But seeing her like this…with such composure…was by far the most scared he had ever been of losing his scavenger girl to the dark side. There was no conflict between Rey and Palpatine competing for her mind. This creature before him was entirely Rey, but one that had been seduced and consumed by the false promises of the dark side.

"No, you weren't." Extending his hand towards the scavenger, he pleaded with her, as she had once pleased with him. "Don't do this Rey, please don't go this way."

"What are you doing?" she looked disgusted by his gesture.

"I told you that I would offer you my hand again. Join me, not as a ruler of the First Order, not as a Sith, not as a Jedi, not as any of it! Just as my bride."

"Your bride?" she practically laughed at the absurdity of it.

"I love you, Rey. I love you enough to not let you fall down into the darkness that cost me everything. Let me help you as you tried to help me." Despite the sincerity in his words, Rey was having none of it. "I'd lay down my life to spare you that pain."

"Prove it," she seethed, swinging his blade as she raced toward him. Kylo Ren was not used to fighting with a quarterstaff; he had to be careful else he would wind up scorching his lower body trying to defend his upper. Luckily, his footwork was still better than Rey's, and he was able to dance around her, blocking her wild strikes. She was fast, swinging her blad about wildly trying to strike him down, while he was strong and could not only easily block the weight of her blows but often throw her back. Still, it was clear that Kylo Ren was on the defensive, for he was often the one having to step back, leading them further into the throne room, where the electric hum of their blades and Rey's screeches reverberated in the hollow space. Hux meanwhile, took advantage of their battle to escape unnoticed out the back-panel door, somewhat confused and yet delighted at his revelation. Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader himself, had abandoned the dark side of the force. Hux's already devised his plan to rid himself of the girl, but now, he had everything he needed to order the execution of that traitorous dark Jedi.

Working their way to the center of the room, he combined an upward strike with a force wave, only to find that she used her own to hold her steady. Turning the blade backward as she had seen him do so many times, the red-eyed creature came thrashing down repeatedly, shouting her anger into each blow. She nearly had him, and he desperately used the force to keep his own blade mere inches from his skin as it hummed in agony over what was happening. He managed to twist his foot between her legs, locking her position in an attempt to cut across her shoulder, but had found that she too imitated his trick and used the force to resist the blade. They struggled in this hold, Rey wanting desperately to back away, but the strength of her dark Jedi wouldn't allow it. In one last desperate attempt, the scavenger girl managed to flash her fang-like teeth in a screech causing Kylo Ren to fall to the floor in shock the quarterstaff flinging from his hands as it bounced along the floor, disengaging its blades. What the literal fuck was that?!

The dark side often deformed those who were consumed by it, had Rey's downward spiral gone so fast that it was already happening? Lost in his own thoughts, the dark Jedi hadn't even registered that his fall provided Rey the opening she needed to execute one final quick jab of her saber right into his center. The burning in his core took his breath, and snapped him back to reality. Looking at his body, his own blade, wielded by his beloved, had mortally wounded him. Concentrating his strength on merely breathing, the blood began to saturate his jacket, seeping in every direction. With the blade still outstretched, the red seemed to almost gush from her eyes as Rey, in control once more, stood in horror over her love, dying by her own hands.

"Ren?" she gasped, sinking to the floor with him, gasping for breath as her entire body quivered in shock. "What have I done?"

Through his labored breath, the dark Jedi was able to convey one last message to his beloved, "This is where the path to the dark side leads, Rey." As his head began to drop, Rey violently shook his shoulders, pleading with his dying body not to leave her. Looking around the room for help, there was nothing and no one at all. Hux had somehow vanished during their fight. In her panic, the scavenger girl cried hot tears while screaming her lungs out to the point of pain ringing in her ears while holding her beloved against her chest.

The sound of her own agony was silenced by a stillness in the force. _"The living force is in all things, Rey. It may be given, or taken, but all things must, in the end, be balanced." _The voice was not that of her grandfather, but of Luke Skywalker.

The living force. Putting her hand over his wound, Rey felt the energy that gave life to all things within her reach. She poured her love into his soul and was nearly overwhelmed with the effort needed to maintain its flow. The red heat of rage had already left her body, taking most of her energy with it. Sweat beaded her forehead as her breaths became shallow, but it was working. The wound in his core began to close, leaving behind nothing but beautiful undamaged white skin. Something else was happening too…his scar…she could barely see it anymore as her body crumpled to the floor and the room went dark.

* * *

Jumping to life with a shiver, the cold air of the room and the metal floor had whisked the heat straight from Rey's body. Though her eyes were open, her mind was empty – what had even happened? At the sight of her dark Jedi on the floor beneath her, it all came flooding back. He still slept, but Rey sighed in relief at the sight of his chest rising and falling with a steady rhythm. Pushing his dark locks out of his eyes, the scavenger girl kissed his forehead in that loving way he had done so often with her. "I want to take your hand, Ren. I want to be your bride." He may not have been able to hear the words yet, but she felt compelled to speak them nonetheless – so that all of the galaxy would know that they were true.

Her arms shook beneath her weight as she leaned over the dark Jedi. Feeling her own heart, the fluttering was faster than Rey knew possible, and try as she might she couldn't seem to take a full breath. Her body was in shock, but her mind…well, Rey felt more like herself at that moment than she had since she was first captured by her grandfather.

With a pull of the force, she collected her quarterstaff and took a moment to admire the soft yellow hue that her saber now held. Kylo Ren must have healed the crystals after she had bled them in her twisted state. In her hands, this saber felt as right to her as the dark Jedi's had, that day in the training facility. Oh! Igniting his blade, she sighed in relief that its bloody hue had turned back to its fiery orange, though, it too almost looked more yellow than it ever had before. It was a relief that she had damaged their living crystals permanently. No longer did she did not feel the presence of Palpatine within her, it was that very thought that scared her the most. Her episode today was not him at all, it was 100% her, almost possessed the power to the dark side.

With one deep breath, the Supreme Leader fluttered his eyes open, almost shocked to find Rey sitting beside him holding both their weapons, which she casually let drop to the floor as she turned to face him. Her soft smile beamed down, growing ever closer until her lips caressed his own. His mind still spun as it tried to recompile what had just occurred. This much was certain, he had his beloved back once more and wrapped her so tightly in his arms he worried that she might break. His beautiful Jedi broke down and began to cry once more, weeping in his chest – her body was still so shaky beneath his embrace. Pushing himself to sit upright, he pulled his cloak around her body to wrap her body even tighter against his own. He didn't quite have the breath for words yet, but rested his cheek ontop her head and hoped that she would know that he was here, and present with her, in this moment, as both her anxiety and relief came flooding from her eyes.

"You were right," Rey said quietly after her tears had subsided. She had to be quiet, because it hurt to even speak, "The path to the dark side leads only to pain. Thank you for saving me…again."

"We save each other, Rey. And once Palpatine is destroyed; hopefully, we will do a little less saving on a regular basis." They both gave a small laugh, pressing their foreheads against one another. Their pair of Silencers should be finished by tomorrow. Though normally he would not advise travel while they both clearly needed some physical recovery, the trip to Exegol would be at least a week. They both had stalled fighting Palpatine up to this point. For Rey, it was out of fear of not being strong enough. For Kylo Ren, the fear of what came ofter, and the potential of losing his beautiful Jedi once more caused him to hesitate. Regardless, the dyad could not afford to wait any longer.

Stable enough to sit up on her own, the scavenger girl looked into Kylo Ren's dark eyes, reflecting on the now two times that he had offered her his hand. With a soft smile, she recounted those exchanges. "When you offered me your hand again today, you said not as a leader of the First Order, just as your bride. I understand if you were just trying to plead with me, but I,"

"I meant it, _exactly_ as I said it. You mean everything to me, Rey. More than the First Order, or ruling, or titles, or power, or any of it. Your love saved me from the dark side, I hoped mine would save you. I was always going to offer you my hand again – I just wasn't planning on doing it quite like that."

"I'm sorry that wasn't enough to snap me out of it. This makes two times that I've rejected your hand and regretted it. I have no right to ask you to do it a third time, but,"

Kylo Ren had hoped that by offering his hand to the scavenger girl in her power-crazed state that his profession of love for her would unite them both in the light side of the force once more. Yet, offering it to her now, without the threat of battle, the pressures of the First Order officers, and either of them being tainted with the dark side – it felt like the most honest expression of their feelings for one another. He had once thought the publicizing of such unions were simply for show, but now, the symbolism of it all, of them both willfully and wholely choosing each other, brought a warming flame to his soul. Rey had slowly trusted more of herself to him in their time together and now was willing to offer yet another piece. In time, all of her would be his: her secrets, her past, her dreams for the future, and her body. She struggled most with that last one, and he would continue to do whatever he needed to help build her confidence until she was ready to fulfill the intention she'd confessed to him – that she _wanted_ to give that special piece of herself to him. With a soft smile on his face, he held out his hand in proposal to Rey, one final time. "Rey, I knew you were special from the first day we met. We complete each other, and there is nothing we can't do together. Rey, I want you to join me and be my bride."

Biting her bottom lip but still with a smile from ear to ear, she nodded her head and placed her hand in his. "I will." Nothing else in the galaxy mattered so long as their dyad was together, and now, nothing would ever tear them apart. Her feelings for the dark Jedi were unlike any she had for another person; she trusted him with her mind, with her body, and with her heart and never once had he betrayed that trust. He may have insisted on being called Ren, but Rey knew in the depths of her soul he was Ben Solo once more. His compassion and patience towards her were more than she had ever hoped to receive from anyone. Her dark Jedi had her heart for some time – there was no defining moment where she suddenly realized she loved him, it was simply a warmth in her heart for him that grew from the moment they first touched hands through the force. How amazing it was to know that he loved her, in every way that a person could be loved…and desired. It was no secret at this point that he relished their intimate moments. Being desired like that, calling her beautiful like that, it was empowering. Leaning forward to kiss him, she pressed with such passion that her dark Jedi fell back to the floor once more. Taking her with him, determined not to break their kiss, he ran his fingers through the lengths of her hair, pushing it from her face. "I love you, Ren."

"I know." There were so few times in his life where Klyo Ren ever felt compelled to act like his father, but this particular opportunity seemed too good to pass up. He laughed at the shock on her face, before professing his love to her again and rolling over top to pin her to the ground and cover her in sweet kisses.


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** The last few months have been a roller coaster for me due to the pandemic. I found myself having to deal with "life" which left me too physically and emotionally drained to do any sort of writing. I started this chapter in May, and now at the end of July, it's time to just put it out there. I hope all of you have been doing well and staying safe, especially as we prepare for the next big event, the potential re-opening of schools and universities. And now...my attempt at an epic land battle that every Star Wars story and movies calls for!

* * *

**Chapter 10: First Order and Resistance **

* * *

A secured message through an untraceable transmission made its way to Leia Organa, the latest in what had to be a dozen by this time. The messages started simple enough, often giving the location of Kylo Ren's movements as he traveled throughout the galaxy. Then, a few months ago, things got interesting when the unknown mole within the First Order gave mention that Rey was indeed alive and being held prisoner by the Supreme Leader. Two simple hollo-images of the girl restrained in a medical bay and strapped to an interrogation table served as proof. Then another, days later, claiming that Kylo Ren had been attempting to turn her to the dark side. She resisted, at first, but then the dark Jedi had been making use of the latest in First Order interrogation techniques to force her compliance. There was no question, the Supreme Leader was personally grooming of her as his new sith apprentice. The resistance had tried to transmit their own messages but found their communications always blocked. Every received message, every attempt at transmission was a risk, for if any were intercepted by unwanted eyes, they risked the life of their unknown aid.

After receiving word that both the Supreme Leader and "his personal prisoner," would be on Mustafar, three scouts were sent to verify the details. Before being reduced to nothing but space-dust, they had confirmed not only the presence of the First Order and dark Jedi, but that in their observations of the volcanic planet, Rey indeed stood in the shambles of Vader's tower. Whomever the spy was, they were well informed. The note received today was handed to the leader of the resistance personally, and only in the company of Poe Dameron did she read the words, "_Supreme Leader growing in success to turn prisoner to the dark side utilizing advanced torture techniques. Jedi to publically swear loyalty to Supreme Leader or be executed. Have devised plan to assist prisoner escape – need external assist. Confirm via secured transmission. Signed – Hope Lives On"_

Poe's face cringed that word - "torture." He remembered his own time, a few short hours, in a First Order interrogation chair. Though he had been trained to resist traditional means of information extraction, poor Rey had no such training. Just as Poe was unable to resist the Supreme Leader's force probe, she would probably be unable to resist his electric shocks and repeated beatings. His stomach began to churn at the thought of Kylo Ren, that sadistic monster, harming his friend. And now he would use her, the symbol of the rebellion, to crush the hopes of the resistance. Regardless of whether she swore loyalty to that sith or faced the firing squad, never again would her light in her eyes shine as bright and when she was here, with her family.

"General, let me put a team together. We go in, we get our girl, we get out. No-fuss, no-muss."

"Denied." She blurted out, almost instinctively. "I can't risk my best pilot jumping into an x-wing and flying into unknown enemy territory when this could be a trap. I know you care about Rey, I care about her too. But something isn't right about all of this. I have sensed a darkness growing in her, and it is only growing stronger."

"All the more reason we need to get her out of there! You already lost your son to the dark side, don't lose Rey too." The back of Leia's hand had whipped across Poe's face for his remark, her ring leaving a cut for blood to leak out. He had no right; he did not know the pain of losing a child. That smug defiant pilot had no idea how much she longed to embrace her son once more, to let him know how much she still loved him and wanted him to come home. Running his tongue across the front of his teeth and cracking his jaw back into place, he admitted, "Okay – I probably deserved that."

The force was so out of balance. In Leia's soul she felt the darkness of her son had nearly dissolved, and in its wake, a redemption of light so strong that in her dreams she could reach out and touch him. At the same time, Rey's light had begun to fade, and she no longer recognized the scavenger girl as the Jedi she had sent to train with Luke. Her soul was conflicted, for she harbored pain and hatred the likes of which rivaled her son's anger – and yet, through the force she could tell that Rey wanted to let go of her pain, to release those unnecessary emotions unbecoming of a true Jedi. Leia had failed her son when his soul began to waver; she would not make the same mistake with the scavenger girl.

"You, Finn, Chewie – that's it." The General Started. "No one else is to know anything, and if you get caught, I'm not sending anyone to rescue you."

"Ma'am!" he saluted before departing to collect his companions.

The spy released the coordinates of the command ship and directed the rebels to use the hanger reserved explicitly for small shuttlecraft of high ranking officers. He ensured that it would be deliberately unmanned the next day, at 16:00 ship time.

* * *

The Supreme Leader sat in the cockpit of his repaired TIE-Silencer, admiring how familiar it felt. He had always been an ace of a pilot and was given first pick the latest in First Order TIE-craft upgrades. The tech explained how Kylo Ren could remotely control his apprentice's craft and discussed something about the advancement of the stealth field generator – a conversation that would fascinate Rey far more than himself. The cockpit hold, just behind the flight controls, was large enough to carry any needed supplies and would be sufficient for sleeping in a curled up position, if he had to. And in past trips, he certainly had too! The hyperdrive was also repaired, allowing their trip to Exegol to take mere hours instead of days. Rey really should have been there to hear all of this, but she desperately wanted to ensure that her lightsaber hilt was perfect before their upcoming battle. He couldn't blame her, of course. Her saber hadn't really finished before he had been forced to use it in battle against Rey's darker side, exposing some of its' flaws. The spring mechanism for opening the saber still stuck, and the kyber casing on the right side was still too lose and allowed the crystal shard to rattle about inside.

The tailor, standing just outside the cockpit, maneuvered his body around the tech to flash holo-sketches of both his regal coronation uniform, and an endless shuffle of white, black, gold, and red dresses for Rey, all of which seemed to displease the Supreme Leader. These designs were all wrong – too elaborate, too ornate, too…puffy! Clearly, he had been drawing inspiration from his grandmother's wardrobe during her time as Queen of Naboo. Dismissing the man, he requested that the seamstress who had been making Rey's Jedi training clothes in her time aboard the command ship be sent to discuss options with his future bride. She needed something simpler, though the Supreme Leader was insistent that his bride wear white.

Shutting the cockpit door, the Supreme Leader launched his ship out of the hangar to practice using the control system to keep the movements of Rey's Silencer in tandem with his own. This level of technology was amazing, for even as he zipped and rolled through the low energy lasers of the training satellites, Rey's empty Silencer followed his movements inch for inch. The dark Jedi's title as an ace pilot was not just in name, and that day he smashed his own personal flying record in the First Order Pilot course; he destroyed all satellites and crossed all checkpoints in the time that it took most pilots just to get through the first half of the course. A cheer of victory rang over the collective COM system from many of the pilots in training who gawked in awe at his speed and precision. He was the pilot they all dreamed of becoming. Not caring for their excessive praise, Kylo Ren silenced his collective COM system, only to notice that that the indicator to his private frequency was flashing.

_"Sir – we just detailed solder FN2190 for sending a transmission of our coordinates to an unknown frequency. We've taken him to Interrogation Room 3 and have been conducting an investigation."_

Finally! The mole! One less annoyance to deal with. "Find out everything he knows and report back to me."

_"That's just it, Sir, he claims to not know anything. We thought perhaps your unique methods of interrogation might be more effective here."_

"Prepare the prisoner, I'm coming down." The Silencer screamed as it entered the hangar before doing a gut-wrenching 180-degree spin and landing. Perhaps it had been too long since Kylo Ren had had a proper space battle, for usually the constant spinning and hairpin turns did nothing to unbalance him, but now there was a sinking feeling in his core. Brushing it off as nothing but an upset stomach, he treaded to the lower levels towards the brig.

Why Interrogation Room 3? Though it had been months since Rey pulled the room to its metal studs, it was not a place he ever desired to visit again, even though every panel and screw had since been replaced. He feared that simply being inside those walls again would force him to relive the horror of that day. The flash of his beautiful Jedi bound to the floor with hot tears of pain flowing from her eyes. The image of Hux's manhood that had forced its way inside _his_ beloved scavenger girl. Though he had tried to convince Rey (and himself) that killing the General lead only to darkness and more suffering, in his heart, the words held the weight of ashes. Kylo Ren had tasted the blood of revenge when he slaughtered Snoke, and it was sweet. He couldn't promise himself that he wouldn't unleash his fury upon Hux once the fallen Emperor was no longer a threat. By then, no one in the entire regime would dare betray him, and Hux would be more than disposable.

As the doors retracted into the walls, the familiar hiss of their retreat echoed in the chamber. The back of the interrogation chair stood illuminated in the otherwise dark room. From this angle, he couldn't see the prisoner. His hand seemed to keep missing the sensor to close the door behind him. And was something off with the air circulation? The temperature in the room seemed to soar. In a moment of lightheadedness, the dark Jedi found his knees buckling beneath his weight whilst crashing into the frame of the door. Sweat greased the locks of his hair in thick strands as the room itself seemed to spin. Clenching his eyes tightly shut, the Supreme Leader let out a belt of anger as his fist pounded the door frame – what was wrong with him? Though he tried to reach out to Rey, his pathway seemed somehow blocked.

"Uh…Sir?" a passing Stormtrooper called out. "Are you okay?" His question was met with an angry push of the force that launched him halfway down the hall as the Supreme Leader found his way to the floor. This feeling, it was like the force inside him was being pulled in every direction, and at the center of it all was his anger at Hux for what had happened.

After Kylo Ren had received confirmation that Rey was still diligently working on her saber, he managed to recollect himself through what seemed to be over an hour of meditation on the Interrogation room floor. Finally, he was able to face his victim. This prisoner was not unlike all the other Stormtrooper soldiers of his regime. He never really gave them much thought and saw them more as mindless pawns and disposable cavalry. Still, FN2187 had betrayed the Order, perhaps it was not out of the question that there were additional traitors lurking in the front lines. At the sight of the dark Jedi in his mask, the prisoner about wet himself in fear. "Please," he begged, "Please don't hurt me. I don't know what happened, I swear. It was like I was in a dream, and when I woke up, I was brought here. What have I done?"

Without uttering a single word, the dark Jedi outstretched his hand and sought to extract the information he desired. What had he been feeding to the resistance? Was he connected to FN2187? They were from the same planet, after all. As the prisoner screamed in agony beneath his probe, he noticed something odd—there was nothing there. It was as if his memory had been wiped. Pressing further still, there was no opposition to his exploration, no mental shields, no nothing. His days consisted of repetitive janitorial duty of the lower cargo levels of the ship. He dawned the green and brown garb of low-level staff and had never in his life dawned a Stormtrooper's armor. At the conclusion of a hard day's work, the man laid himself down to sleep and found himself awake at the COM board on a level of the ship he had never been to before in a uniform he had never before worn.

Activating the COM button in his helmet, the Supreme Leader shouted, "FN2190, status check, _NOW!_"

_"Yes Sir!"_ The operator replied. _"Records show last known position of FN2190 was aboard the Supremacy – assumed to have been killed in action, Also Sir, we've just been alerted by rounds that one of the escape pods in Hanger 12 is missing."_

"Who _are_ you?" he asked, unable to piece together quite what was happening.

* * *

Meanwhile….

* * *

Thinking back to that night, which had been the best in her entire life, a quick smile flashed across Rey's face, and a rosy flush filled her cheeks. Though he had previously claimed that his sleeping on the couch ensured he would not disturb her sleep with his constant comings and goings, every night since their most intimate one, her beloved dark Jedi slept in the bed with her (much to her delight). The warmth of his body against hers, the wave of calmness his embrace brought, the single kiss to her forehead that he would impart whenever duty bound him to leave while she slept all strengthened their bond and nourished her feelings for the other half of her dyad.

Rey held her hilt up to the light, hoping to get a better look at the wire she needed to solder. In hearing the swoosh of the door to the armory, she muddled something unrecognizable, what with a screwdriver in her mouth and all. Glancing back for just a moment, her eyes widened at the sight of that red-headed monster who wielded a wry smile on his face and the activator in his hand as the tool dropped out of her gaping mouth.

Once the scavenger girl had crashed unconscious atop the workbench, the General ordered his loyal troops to inject her with a serum. It had been acquired from some black-market dealer in the outer rim, it wasn't really important where it came from only that it was guaranteed to knock her out for hours and do a number on her memory to boot. With a glance at his watch reading 15:48, there was little time to waste, for those rebel fools would be here any second. The soldiers dropped a shipping crate on the floor and tossed the scavenger girl inside. The metal hilt of Luke's old saber on the table made Hux practically giddy – surely, this piece of damning evidence would convince the leadership that the scavenger girl never intended to serve the dark side of the force. To stage a raid of the armory, several guns and batons of all the latest models served as the final addition to the shipping crate. As metal weaponry crushed her body and bashed her head, the scavenger girl remained completely unconscious.

Reaching the hangar, his plan had gone perfectly. Hopefully, they would be able to sneak in undetected, for it was only used for personal shuttlecraft of high ranking officers. The Stormtroopers released their grip on the crate, sending it to fall on the metal floor; the thud echoed throughout the hanger, practically begging someone to come check on the source of the noise. "Imbecile! Are you _trying_ to get us caught!?" Drawing his blaster, the discharge of four sequential rounds had executed the General's only witnesses, leaving their otherwise pristine white armor with stains of red.

The resistance shuttle landed quickly enough. With the unmistakable hiss of the hatch opening, a familiar fog flooded the hangar. Greeted by Poe and Finn, both with blasters at the ready, the General simply kicked the side of the crate, "Here. Take her and get out of here."

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." Poe declared shaking his head. "Open the crate."

_Pfft_, dialing the combination _2190_ on the side, the top hissed open, the pair glanced over the metal sidewalls to see that Rey's body had been stuffed inside along with a variety of First Order weaponry.

"You got eyes on him?" Finn asked his friend.

"Yeah, I got eyes. Eyes, and a fully loaded blaster."

Poe jumped off the hatch ramp, with a touch to Rey's neck, was relieved to find her both breathing and beating. "She's alright, I think she's just knocked out." The other objects in the crate caught his attention and pulling out a new blaster rifle, he commented: "These are nice! Much better than that builder's grade First Order crap you normally use." Shaking Rey's shoulder's, the pilot's amusement grew to concern as Rey refused to wake.

"You give her something?" Poe asked.

"I didn't, the Supreme Leader did. A serum he used when she gets too…feisty. Oh, and you'll need this." With a quick toss to Finn, a small activator landed in his hands. "It seems your little scavenger girl's training the dark side has had some disastrous side effects. In her resistance, she becomes possessed by the late Emperor and is quite dangerous. Press that button to knock her out for a short while and break whatever force connections she be might be wielding."

"But, don't you like…serve the dark side?" Poe questioned.

"I served Supreme Leader Snoke, and now that he is gone, I am the one giving the orders. And if you know what's good for you, you'll fall in line like the rest of them." Seeming rather proud of himself, he continued, "Should the fallen Emperor indeed rise, the First Order will be the one to take him and his little fleet out. We will maintain order in the galaxy, and if you want our protection I suggest,"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Poe interrupted. "Quit fighting the First Order, subject ourselves to your dictatorship, endless misery for all, yadda yadda, yeah, we got it pal. I think we'll stick with our current plan. Thanks though," he said with a wink.

"Is this thing why she's out cold now?" Finn asked, looking at the activator in his hand.

"Huh? Oh no, this was just a simple sleep serum. It will wear off in a few hours, and when it does, she should be back to her normal wretched self."

"Yeah…okay, great. Stupid question - why are you helping us?" Poe asked.

"Because Kylo Ren needs to be taught a lesson. He may be able to wield the force, but I wield the largest fleet in the galaxy, and I will not be treated with the disrespect he seems fit to bestow me. I don't need the resistance to win; I just need him to lose! Now, take her and go!"

Hux's plan had worked perfectly. He believed that not only would Kylo Ren be devastated at the loss of his precious scavenger girl, but that when the serum wore off, Rey will likely "go crazy" again and kill off the rest of the resistance herself. Two birds, one filthy scavenger stone. Now, for the final bit of his plan with the press of a button – a single vacant escape pod launched out the hangar

* * *

When Rey awoke, she found herself bound in what appeared to be First Order restraining cuffs around her wrist. Pain throbbed in a steady rhythm on the one side of her head and pressing the palm of her hand against her eye to relieve the pressure only brought tears. Even through her clouded vision, it was obvious that this wasn't Kylo Ren's command ship. There appeared in her cell, a large metal door with a small barred window. Peeking out with her one "good" eye, there were no guards nor clues to her whereabouts. What had happened? She remembered that red-headed weasel activating the disk in her back, and after that, it was too fuzzy to discern. Had Hux finally staged a coup? Was Kylo Ren okay? At each attempt of formulating a thought, let alone focusing on one, the radiating pain in her head swelled; she couldn't master her force connection to Kylo Ren in this state. Curling on her cot with eyes tightly sealed, all the scavenger girl could do was wait.

After several hours or at least what seemed like it, the metal door screeched against the door frame as it pounded open, Rey stared in disbelief at the sight of her friend, of Finn, in the doorway. She wanted to leap up in joy, to hug him, to tell him how much she had missed him, but even the slow movement of sitting upright released such agony in her head that she was forced to seal her eyes and rest her head on the cot once more. "Finn, where are we? What happened?"

He seemed confused by her question, and remained in the doorway, blaster ever at the ready, and pointed directly at the scavenger girl on the floor. "Rey? Are you like…with it?"

"With it? What are you talking about? What happened? Where's Kylo Ren?"

"It's all good. You're safe now. He can't hurt you here, and we will never let him find you again. And as soon as your mind is back to normal, we can get out of these restraints. Sorry about them, but captain's orders."

"I don't understand. How did I get here?"

"There's a spy in the First Order Rey. He's been filling us in on everything that happened, on how Kylo Ren has been trying to turn you to the dark side, how you wouldn't give in, how he was going to make you swear loyalty or pubically off you to try squash the last hope of the resistance."

"No…that's…that's not what happened." The pounding in her head amplified.

"It's okay, Rey, you're probably just confused from being out of it for so long."

"I'm _not_ confused." She hissed, her eyes began to turn red as she threw out her hands and blew Finn back with the force into the cell wall. With a First Order activator concealed in his hand, the man felt he has no choice but to take Hux's advice and press the device to prevent his friend from becoming possessed by the sith. Within a second, Rey collapsed to the ground, her muscles twitching with electric pain. Not this…not again! As she escaped consciousness and the world around her, she held onto one fleeting thought, Kylo Ren was not going to have the satisfaction of killing Hux; she was going to taste the sweet blood of revenge herself.

Rey awoke with the painful start to the pulling of a charley horse in her calf. As she forced her leg to stretch to relieve the spasm, the smallest whimper of pain escaped her lips. Her random muscle spasms seemed to increase the more those electronic activators were used. At the release of her contracted leg, Rey was conscious again, Finn had gone, the cell wall damaged from where she had thrown him. Concentrating her efforts on calling out to the other half of her dyad, she was met with a block – the strength of which she had never seen. Focusing harder, she hadn't even realized that the voice of her grandfather had managed to sneak in.

_ "Tsk tsk tsk. Look at you – my own granddaughter captured by the resistance. Her own, so-called friends, restrain her and torture her. Light or dark my dear, the methods are all the same."_

_"I'm really not in the mood for this." _

Rather than order him out of her head, the scavenger girl focused her thoughts with images of Kylo Ren, and the calmness that his presence brought. She had to remind herself that Palpatine had no power over her, that the dark side of the force had no power over her. She just needed to find a way to connect with the other half of her dyad. Why was there no feeling of him within the force?

_"Heh, I'm surprised you still attempt to drive me out, especially given that you so willingly gave yourself to the dark side. You were always capable, always nearing the edge, and in a glorious effort took the final step. I know you felt it, the surge of power in your veins. For the first time in your life, you didn't feel helpless. You gave up the dark side for the very reason the first Skywalker turned – love. In the end, he couldn't save his love, and you won't be able to save yours. But with the dark side, you would at least be able to save yourself when the Final Order rises."_

_ "One more word out of you, and I'll, "_ Z_aaaaaaaaaaaaaap!_

In a flurry of words, Finn rambled, "Oh Rey, Oh shit Rey, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but you were talking to him, and I had…I had to do something." He stood panicked in the doorway, the activator still in his hand, ready to be pushed again if necessary. He did not want to hurt his friend, and his heart bled at watching her suffer under the pain he was causing. But what else could he do? What other option was there? They had to get rid of Kylo Ren and Palpatine, only then would his dear friend would be free again.

The shock took away her control but not her power, and with a push of her hand, the cell door blew off its hinges, echoing loudly as it bounced and tumbled down the hall. Feeling the pull of Palpatine attempting to control her, she used her strength to unleash a lightning strike of her own through their force connection. Rey could see her strike had inflicted pain on the fallen Emperor, causing his body to flinch away.

_"Only in the dark side will you find the power you need to survive." He said, vanishing from her thoughts. _

Finn had been caught in the collateral damage of her blast on the cell door and had been thrown into the hallway. Retrieving the keys from her friend's unconscious body, she desperately shook his shoulders with her now freed hands while calling out his name. The shock may have stopped, but electricity still seemed to surge in Rey's body, causing her muscles to twinge and contract in constant pain; her vision still partially clouded with tears when she winced. The noise of the clamoring door was loud enough to cause a commotion, as Poe and Chewie rushed down the hall, blasters at the ready.

"He's out cold," she huffed, annoyed before realizing the activator was still in Finn's hands. At the moment, she spotted it, Rey tossed that cursed thing to the ground, stomping on it repeatedly until it remained nothing but broken electronic bits. "Fuck this thing!" Chewie let out a cry, for never had he heard Rey talk like that.

"Uhh Rey…sweetheart….what's going on?" Poe asked.

"I need to know what happened, and a surgeon, I need a surgeon. Has the First Order been traveling nearby? And Leia, I need to speak with Leia and tell her that her son is alive." Rey continued to spew out the words faster than light speed until she was interrupted by Poe.

"Okay – "A," you need to calm down! "B," my buddy is out cold on the floor, and you are not, so forgive me for not exactly trusting you right now. And three...a surgeon?!" Finn groaned as he eased back into consciousness.

Rey rushed to embrace her friend but was knocked back out of instinct to avoid a blaster shot from Poe.

"Before anybody moves…I want answers." Poe said.

* * *

Rey sat on the floor of her cell, perched on her heels, with her three friends circled around her. The Jedi tried her best to recount the last few months of her life (at least the parts she felt that they needed to know about) over a batch of portion bread which they all shared. She told them of her relationship to Palpatine, how Kylo Ren has saved her from his clutches, how they were a dyad in the force, and had been working together to find a way to Exegol to destroy him. She spoke of the fragility of the high ranking officers of the First Order, how Hux had been trying to destroy her since day one (though she spared the details of said destruction, sans the compliance disk), and how it made sense that if the General could not kill Rey, he could at the very least, send her far away. Insisting once more on speaking to Leia, the trio did not have time to think it over before an explosion rumbled through the ground, causing bits of the ceiling to crumble and fall like dust over top of them.

Rushing out the holding cells, the team stood in horror at a view of a fleet of a dozen ships, thousands of soldiers, and star-destroyer level weaponry. The image was of darkness, fire, and smoke, these were not First Order ships, there was a sinister undercurrent to these soldiers. Rey pieced it together quickly enough, the resistance base was under attack by Palpatine's Final Order! Ever at the ready, resistance troops were running to their stations or seeking cover from the Stormtroopers garbed in red armor who attacked them. The air was pierced with the high pitched whirl of fighter ships overhead scathing past as they dropped their bombs of destruction.

Pulling a blaster to herself from the body of an already fallen comrade, Rey opened fire on the storm-troopers. With perfect aim she shot again and again, killing the targets of her attack. In a predictable formation, they formed a firing line, making it all too easy to generate a force wave that took them all down. Though she had regained control of her body, the looming presence of her grandfather lingered in her head.

_"Why are you attacking the resistance base?" she asked._

_"Because you refuse to take your rightful place. So my methods have needed to become more…forceful."_

_"Well, attacking my family is not exactly going to sway me."_

_"Look at all the destruction you are causing. You could stop it. Claim your place with me and end all the violence that exists in the galaxy by bringing a new order to rise. One that Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, nor Kylo Ren were strong enough to rule."_

One of the fighter ships in the distance began to descend and had opened its belly in preparation of dropping bombs throughout what remained of the rebel base. Peering into her grandfather's mind, Rey saw the target of the attack, the underground command center where resistance leadership, including Leia, were hiding. In desperation to save her friends, she summoned all the electricity coursing through her body and with her fingers like channels, aimed her fury at the enemy ship, watching it crackle and buckle as it plunged to the ground in pieces. Trying once more to reach out to Kylo Ren, there was still nothing, as if his very existence had been expunged from the galaxy.

One of the red Stormtroopers advanced on Rey, wielding a riot baton that she easily dodged before spinning beneath his feet, knocking him to the ground. A move she had picked up from Kylo Ren. Needing a weapon, something better than a blaster, the Jedi desperately scanned the area for anything useful. A dozen more troops advanced forward, practically running. They were fast on their feet, forcing the scavenger girl to retreat into the woods, hoping to use the chaos of twisted roots and tree thickets to help create distance between them. The troops followed, gaining on her with every step; shouting their electronically filtered monotonous orders for her to "stop!" Eventually, the scavenger girl found herself cornered, where the ground rose so high it might have well have been a wall. Could she kill them all with just the force? She had no choice but to try. A quick doge to the right and an uppercut punch, which likely hurt her hand more than the face of the solider beneath the mask, were her first two moves, but it was clear she couldn't take them all down without a weapon. Using the force, she hurled herself into the treetops and called out to the only person she could sense—Finn. _ I need help._

Whacking the tree truck with their batons, the soldiers hoped to bring it toppling down, along with the Jedi. Avoiding blaster shots high in the branches grew more treacherous as more leaves began to catch fire and expose her every move. "Rey!" Finn screamed while wildly firing his blaster on the backs of the troops. Chewie had opted for a much larger weapon that fired a single round and took out the remaining battalion…along with leaving holes in half a dozen tree trunks. Jumping down to the ground, she embraced her friend, knowing that no matter what battlefield she fought on, she never fought alone. Chewie let out a roar reminding Finn to give Rey the only weapon worthy of a Jedi.

"Leia told me you'd be needing this soon. I think she could feel that the attack was coming." Rey hesitated to take ahold of the shaft. Would this saber resist her as Luke's had? Igniting the blade, she felt no pull, no struggle from the crystal within. With a sigh of relief, Rey spun about on her heels and in one sweeping jump, watched sparks fly as she ran the blade down the back of an enemy that had managed to sneak up on them.

The ground itself shook, throwing Rey just slightly off her balance, another ship full of troops had just landed in the clearing. The trio raced back to the center of the base. With rage in her voice, Rey launched an attack on the hundreds of Stormtroopers that poured out of the backs of carrier vessels like so much rushing water cresting overtop a waterfall. Finn and Chewie joined the defenses barricaded behind a shield of (now empty) weapons crates. Despite the chaos and the defining noise, there was beneath it all a sinister silence. Palpatine—where was he? In search of her victim, Rey effortlessly took down anyone who resisted her movement. The smell of blood and sweat reeked in her clothes, while fuel and fire perfumed the sky.

Amidst the chaos, she followed him as clear as she was once able to follow Kylo Ren through the void. Back into the resistance base and into a private room, he sat most causally upon a weapons crate, and with hollowed eyes and sunken skin, he smiled at her. Something didn't feel right here…Rey's eyes told her that Palpatine sat helpless in front of her, and yet, the force told her otherwise…could this be a trick? The anger at her grandfather for all of his destruction took hold as she hissed at him, "You're going to pay for what you've done." Raising her lightsaber, she Jedi was ready to strike him down.

_"I sense so much darkness in you." he replied. "This is your legacy – show them all what you are capable of!"_

As she began her downward strike, a familiar voice boomed inside her mind, _"Rey! Stop!"_ The voice shook her very soul, for it belonged to Kylo Ren. As fast as the voice entered her head, it was gone again. Focusing back on the man in front of her, the image of Palpatine dissolved into that of Leia. Was this a hallucination? A side effect of that serum Hux had dosed her with? Or, was this Palpatine continuing to fuck with her head? Either way, she wasn't falling for it.

"I can feel Palptine's presence in you, Rey. Feel Ben's presence in mine. We can help you." Leia said calmly.

"Your tricks are not going to stop me!" she screeched. Looking down at her soon to be victim and with two hands gripped tightly on the hilt, her swing was stopped by another lightsaber…one with a bright fiery orange glow.

"Get out of my way!" she screamed. "Let me end this!"

Kylo Ren remained silent and swung back at her, forcing her away from the figure of Leia that still possessed that menacing undercurrent of a sith. Had her dark Jedi finally sworn loyalty to the Emperor? Was the temptation of power too much for him? Despite knowing that he was using the force to project himself right in front of her, she still couldn't sense him through their connection. Was he intentionally blocking her somehow? How could he have gone down this path and left her alone once more?

"Why are you protecting him?"

"You don't know what you are doing. I don't know what you think you see, but I can't let you do this."

Swing after endless swing, the dark Jedi did not seem to be trying to strike Rey down, but rather drive her back out of the base and to the open field of the resistance camp. He only struck to counter her blows, and his footwork fast enough that she never ever came close to striking him down. Leia's saber had begun to fight her as well, never quite moving the way she wanted, always hesitant in its thrusts.

In his own signature move, he managed to quickly pull his foot underneath her own, tripping her backward (that was the third time). She really should have known better by this point. As gravity pulled her body down, Rey took one quick, shallow swing and managed to cut across Kylo Ren's chest. Releasing the saber from her hand, she blew both it and the Supreme Leader into the air with a blast of force so strong as to drive his body into a nearby tree, a branch impaling his side. His force projection vanished as he fell, the connection broken, disappearing completely before his body touched the ground. Despite the ear-shattering noise around her, Rey collapsed onto her heels and bowed her head, trying to reach out to him a final time – nothing.

_"Well done, my dear. Now that you have proven yourself worthy by slaying Kylo Ren, you may now claim my throne, and together we shall rule the galaxy!" _

"I didn't kill him. Even if that was him, and not one of your mind tricks, he's stronger than that, and we both know it."

_The image of her beloved flashed in her head. He lay face down on the floor his own private chamber, with saber still in hand. His back did not rise nor fall with breath. The blood from his side flowed spread out in an ever-widening circle. His wound from her attack in the Throne Room had also reopened. The Jedi was unable to feel any life force in his body or sense the other half of her dyad in any way. _

_"You've killed hundreds of my men, you've killed your own precious lover, you have destruction in your bones. Surely you can taste it."_

"Surely, you're mistaken. It's _your_ troops that are killing everyone." Another bomb hit the ground, causing it to rumble as if a wave traveled through the dirt knocking down all in its path. What was left of the resistance base (above ground) was now nothing but a crater in the soil. Leia was in that base…

_"Only because you refuse your destiny. The war between the Final Order and the resistance is because of you. You can run back to the First Order, but their fate will be the same. You cannot outrun your destiny. You cannot outrun me. And I will destroy every living creature in the galaxy until you take your rightful place on the throne."_

Through the haze of gray clouds and firey glow, she saw only the annihilation of which her grandfather spoke. Dead storm troopers and resistance militia everywhere, half the forest was ablaze. The air was so thick with smoke now her lungs begged for relief and violently coughed out their own black tar. She couldn't see two feet from her face, and could only rely on the sounds of warfare around her to know that the battle was sill commencing.

_Palpatine forced Rey's body to rise. "Come to me, my dear. Take your place in history!"_

"No." she spat with a ferocity and sternness on her face that rivaled Kylo Ren's most assertive glare. "I won't." Rey pulled Leia's ignited saber back to her hand and prepared to drive its beam through her own torso. Unable to sense the other half of her dyad, she could only conclude that she had, in fact, killed Kylo Ren; a crime for which she would never forgive herself. Palpatine's troops had likely taken out Leia with that last round of bombing. As long as she lived, Palaptine would use her as an excuse to create pandemonium throughout the galaxy.

Raising the hilt in front of her, she closed her eyes in preparation of the moment of pain that was about to come. A moment of pain, following by an eternity of darkness. Yet, her arm did not move, for her wrist once again seemed bound, but this time by hands wrapped in leather gloves. Kylo Ren knelt in front of her, moving his face mere inches from his own before kissing her through the force. This wasn't their shared connection though…she still could not sense him even though his force projection appeared in front of her once more and she could feel the pressure of his lips on hers. The blood that seeped in lightning patterns down his face stained her skin as he pulled away to look into her eyes once more.

In their kiss he showed her what Palatine's mind tricks had contorted. In the resistance base just minutes ago, it was never Palpatine's body she was standing over, preparing to strike down. It was Leia's. Kylo Ren…no, Ben Solo…protected his mother's life by stopping Rey's killing blow. In a way, he also saved Rey yet again, knowing that she would never live with herself had she killed Leia…even if the Jedi truly though it was Palpatine. Poe had pulled a meditating Leia from the base, causing her the break her focus, they escaped mere minutes before the bombing. Finn and Chewie had collected some of the wounded and had retreated into the woods. Yet…red stormtroopers continued to march towards them. Her friends were still in danger. Palpatine's dark energy forced the connection to break and Kylo Ren vanished once more. It was that heartless sith who strove to keep her dyad severed. Ironic, that Snoke would use the force to spark their connection while the fallen Emperor would use the force to try to end it. She was not strong enough to overcome is force block right then. Besides, she needed every ounce of her strength to finish this and get to Exegol as fast as possible. If Palpatine was now able to contort her reality, who knows what destruction she might unwilling cause under his sadistic influence?

Igniting Leia's saber once more, Rey shot to her feet and slashed through enemy after enemy for what seemed like hours. The slow march of battalions of red troops were met with grenades and bombs that shot like cannons out of the forest, destroying everything in their path, and yet none hit Rey, for it was as if she could sense their moments and easily move her body out of harm's way before they came whizzing by.

Running only on adrenaline, her saber whipped and slashed through enemy after enemy. Her skin now so cut and bruised, her body looked the way she felt, scarred. Her strength was wearing, and her moves slowing. She never saw the hit to her jaw coming but felt a tooth break free of her gums, and her mouth fill with blood. Her stomach ached after a hard metal boot connected with her torso. Once more the sizzle of electricity was heard as a team of soliders approached her with control batons.

The explosive sound of ship fire surrounded Rey, and out of every corner was a flash followed by earth and solider being tossed into the air. It was not a resistance backup ship, as she expected, but rather a First Order battleship which hovered overhead. Continuing to cover fire, the ship lowered itself to the ground releasing an army of white Stormtroopers as more First Order Ships lit the sky with synchronous blasts that split Final Order aircraft in two. The ground quaked violently as the remains of the aircraft plummeted from the sky into the earth. The white First Order troops drove back countless numbers of the red army. Never in her life did she ever think that the sight of First Order soldiers would bring a sigh of relief.

The rhythmic stomp of feet pounded the ground as another formation of red Stormtroopers ran towards Rey. Forcing herself to stand atop unstable knees, she held out Leia's saber, ready give her last breath to taking down these monsters. The galaxy stopped, just for a moment, when out the corner of her eye, helmet dawned, and saber ablaze, Kylo Ren appeared at her side. On Crait, Luke Skywalker had summoned the most impressive force projection that Rey had ever seen…until now.

Luke and Kylo Ren were unable to harm each other in their battle, but clearly this projection was even stronger than Luke's for the Supreme Leader made quick work of the battalion, slaughtering almost forty troops in mere minutes. He stayed close to the scavenger girl, never straying more than a few meters from her side. Tossing his weapon in the air for only a moment, the dark Jedi used both his hands to create a blast so strong as to knock down an entire line of red soldiers before catching his blade, spinning it about his wrist and striking a deadly blow onto an oncoming enemy. First Order troops worked to draw soldiers away from the dyad, and those that managed to get through faced the wrath of Kylo Ren. Rey held her ready position, on the chance that a solider may get through his line, but none did.

As Poe lead a team of X-wing fighters that successfully took down the last of the starships, the land crew had managed to use every blaster, bomber, and grenade in the place to made mincemeat of the red Stormtroopers.

As the last of the Final Order fleet fell to the ground, a pulse moved through the galaxy so violently, that all the men, and even Rey herself tumbled to the ground, leaving only Kylo Ren standing, for he used the force to keep himself upright during the instance vibration. The Emperor was furious at his loss, and the entire galaxy quaked with his rage.

Looking down at his beloved, the Supreme Leader asked Rey if she would be okay. Having to be satisfied with an unconvincing nod, the dark Jedi ended his force projection. Aboard his command ship, Kylo Ren collapsed forward off of his heels to the ground. A medical team stood at the ready to treat his wounds the moment he no longer showed signs of meditating.

Alone once more, Palpatine hissed at his granddaughter though their connection, knowing that there was still once last way to get under her skin.

_"This was nothing but a demonstration of my power." In her mind, she saw the full force of his fleet – thousands upon thousands of star destroyers with millions of more soldiers in red polymer armor. "I'll leave you with your guilt, of all the innocent people you slaughtered." _

Taking in the devastation around her, she could not count the number of slain bodies outstretched across the clearing, the base, and the burning forest. By her own hand, several hundred enemies were dead, by Kylo Ren's roughly the same, along with thousands of resistance and First Order troops.


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** Well, it's been a while, huh? This pandemic stricken year has really left me drained and I've been slowly (painfully slowly) working on this chapter for literally months. To those who sent me messages asking me to update, I'm really glad you are enjoying this story, and I hope that each chapter continues to live up to your expectations. Finally, I hope all of you have a safe and happy thanksgiving, and my goal is to have the next chapter done by Christmas (just trying to be realistic with myself here).

* * *

**Chapter 11: Pain and Healing**

* * *

Rey sat in a window of the Millennium Falcon, her hands folded across her lap as her face rested against the cool glass. She had often passed the time alone on in Kylo Ren's quarters, counting the endless stars in the galaxy visible from the window next to his bed. The few dozen remaining survivors from the base were aboard as well, and for the second time in her life, Rey opted to leave the First Order behind to stay with her friends. But this time, it was much harder. One of the stormtrooper fleet commanders instructed Rey that she was to return to the command ship. While she desired to be with her love once more, there was unfinished business here. She needed to see Leia alone and tell the General that her son was still very much alive. She needed to see Finn, Poe, and Chewie, for she had missed them terribly over the last year. She needed to get that damn compliance disk removed, a feat that neither she nor the Supreme Leader trusted any First Order medic with. And of course, now that they had seen the wrath of the fallen Emperor, she needed to act as the bridge that could bring the resistance and First Order together as allies in fighting their common enemy.

She truly thought they could win against her grandfather and had never believed it more than the instant she saw her love appear by her side on the battlefield. His force projection…just the sheer strength of it, was like nothing Rey had ever known possible. Luke Skywalker, the greatest Jedi ever known, died from the effort of force projecting himself halfway across the galaxy. Not only had Kylo Ren done the same, but he was able to lead a physical assault on Palpatine's troops. Snoke was no fool. Even in Ben's youth that sith already knew that he would evolve into the strongest force wielding being in the galaxy.

The dyad had often trained together, meditated together, and practiced their mastery of the force together. Why then was she only just now learning that he had such power? In a way, she felt betrayed. But then again, Kylo Ren told her that he kept secrets from her for fear of what Palpatine could see inside her head. Still, the scavenger girl never thought he would keep _that_ big a secret from her.

_"What are you thinking about?" he asked_. Shifting her gaze from the window, she saw him. It was exactly like when the force had first begun connecting them. She saw his form, solid and clear, and felt his presence in her soul. Still, it wasn't the same as having him sit mere feet away. Their touch through the force carried power, but not the tenderness that his gentle stokes could only induce when his hands caressed her skin. Even if she rested her head on his chest, she would not hear his heartbeat nor feel the warmth of his body. It was as if through the force, she only saw a shell of the man she loved and not his entire form.

"That I wish you were here." She admitted, pulling a blanket tighter around her body. "You said no when I asked you to come before, but I can't help but ask again."

_"I can't."_ The words carried the weight of all his sorrow. He wanted to be with Rey and comfort her as she braved a surgeon knife to get the compliance disk removed from her back. To be able to hold the sight of her in his eyes and breathe her scent as they slept, just as they had done now for months. And what was worse, he could not tell his beloved why. Claiming that facing Leia was too much (which was at least partly true) clouded over the reality that the resistance would never accept him back; even if (and he couldn't believe he was admitting this) he wanted to go back. If Rey's plan to unite the First Order and the Resistance together had any chance of success, the idea needed to be endorsed by an ally, a hero of the resistance. Kylo Ren had hoped that by giving Rey time, she would convince them to join their cause against the sith. And after what Palpatine claimed to be a mere taste of his fleet, they were going to need every last ship, blaster, and soldier the galaxy could offer.

"I know." And she did know what she was asking of Kylo Ren, of Ben Solo, but she didn't care. Forbidding herself to let even a single tear escape her eyes, the scavenger girl turned her gaze back to the window. In the past year, she had cried enough for a lifetime, and sure as hell wasn't justified in doing it now. Right now, her friends were with her, Leia was with her, and through their dyad, was still fortunate enough to be connected to her other half. The sound of his voice, the look of his eyes, all hers for whenever she wanted, and yet, why did it not seem like enough? "I guess I was just hoping you'd change your mind. I'd feel a lot better about this surgery tomorrow if you were here."

Standing over her, the Supreme Leader rested his arm on the wall above her head, using the projection of his body to separate her from the rest of the galaxy. There was a comfort, a sense of safety that bloomed in the scavenger girl whenever he would tower over her like that, this physical gesture that he would protect her from every harm_. "I don't like the idea of you having surgery at all. It's a feeling, call it intuition, if you want, but I can't shake it. I could never lose you."_

Putting two fingers across his lips, Rey silenced the dark Jedi. After puckering his lips to kiss her concealing fingertips, the scavenger girl laid her hand across his cheek, feeling his uneasiness.

"I'll never leave you. But, I have to get this damn thing out. Every time I fight, one stupid press of an activator switch, and I am useless. How am I supposed to fight the sith like this? And speaking of, someone has to convince these people that fighting Palpatine is the only way to prevent the galaxy's destruction. Though admittedly, after the battle last week, I think it will be a lot easier to convince them that an alliance with the First Order is the only way."

_"I have the largest fleet in the galaxy. You and I are the strongest Jedi in the galaxy. Remind me again, what difference will the addition of a couple thousand scattered rebels make?"_

"Those rebels are lead by your mother. If they could see you both together, two Jedi leading your armies again the sith…it would bring hope to the galaxy. Hope destroys the dark side, it destroys the sith. It's the most powerful force in the galaxy." Rey paused, making absolutely sure that what she saw in him was true. "It's why you offered me your hand that day on the Supremacy."

"Rey?" Poe's voice called out, accompanied by several raps at her metal chamber door. "Rey, you in there?"

Feeling their connection of their quiet moment fading, she tried once more to plead with her beloved to come to the Millenium Falcon and be with her tomorrow. Though they were connected by the force, the distance made it easier to hide her fear. It wasn't just the idea of the surgery that scared the scavenger girl. It was thought of what would happen if something went wrong. The disk was in her spine. One wrong move and she would be paralyzed for life. What good is a rebel who cannot fight? What good is a leader bound to a wheelchair? Would Leia and her friends simply toss her aside if she were no longer useful? What of Kylo Ren? He was, without question, the strongest (albeit dark) Jedi in the galaxy and deserved an equally powerful bride. How could she ever be his equal again if she were debilitated like that?

It was at that moment that she remembered the first time they had met. When he saw her as nothing more than a filthy scavenger girl. He only saw her as worthy of his attention after realizing she could wield the force. Would he still see her as worthy if she could no longer walk?

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realized Poe had come into her room. Snapping back to reality, Poe pulled her from her window seat and brought her down to the mess hall where Finn was still scratching his head about Chewie's (illegal) move in dejarik.

* * *

Rey sat on the metal table in a surgical gown, wiggling her twitchy nervous toes as she waited for the last remaining physician alive after the battle. Finn and Poe sat on either side, the former holding her hand in his own, and the latter kept an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "I've wanted this damn thing out of my spine for almost a year…so why am I so nervous?"

"Hey, it's okay to be nervous. No one likes getting cut open. But Finn and me, we're going to be waiting right outside through the whole thing. You don't have to do this alone."

Rey let her head fall to Poe's shoulder as she smiled, "I'm glad that I'm not alone." She missed her friends, but finally being back with them was only going to make her inevitable departure that much harder. If only Ben had had friends like this, then maybe he would have never been tempted by the dark side of the force as a child. Still, for all the comfort her friends could provide, she wondered if the sinking feeling in her gut would have been silenced if her beloved Kylo Ren were here with her. While she understood that facing Leia right now might be too much for him, that it would undermine their efforts to join these two teams together, there was also a part of her that hated him for staying away.

The physician entered the room with a tray of freshly cleaned tools, including a sinisterly sharp-looking scalpel. "I'm going to need you two to leave," he ordered, flicking a syringe of something intended to numb Rey's back. It was an odd blue substance cut with a swirling smoke of white. Rey's eyes grew wide as she shook her head, practically begging her friends not to leave her, sensing that something was amiss here.

As Poe jumped off the table, Rey almost blurted out that Kylo Ren would never dare leave her if she asked, hoping to use the pilot's obvious jealousy to work in her favor. But still, even after a year of exposure to the First Order and even her spells in the dark side of the force, she couldn't bring herself to manipulate her friend like that. Instead, she refused to let go of Finn's hand and pulled him in close.

"Something isn't right here; I can sense it." Finn's look of concern was interrupted by Poe kissing her cheek. "We'll be right outside, and it'll be over before you know it. Take good care of our girl, doc."

"Finn," Rey added with the utmost seriousness in her whisper. "I don't trust this man."

"Maybe you are just nervous? What if this is Palpatine screwing with your head?" Rey's confused look prompted her friend to continue. "Think about it, so long as you have this First Order tech inside you, you are sitting duck on the battlefield. Palpatine would want you to believe _anything_ necessary in order to maintain that kind of upper hand. He knows without it, you'd take him down in a heartbeat."

The idea wasn't crazy, but it did nothing to silence her fear. Perhaps this was also Kylo Ren's words last night getting to her.

The physician opened the back of Rey's gown and, without any warning, stuck the icy needle inside in her warm body, it's fluid zapping her warmth from inside. He hadn't even cleaned the skin. "This will just take a minute to kick in, and then we can get started."

Almost instantly, Rey lost the feeling in the low part of her back, followed by her toes. But then, arms, fingers, even her tongue started to feel heavy, lifeless, and numb.

"What did you give me?!" she asked, realizing that her mind was growing hazy. The muscles in her back let loose their hold on her spine, and for all the heaviness in her arms, their strength dissolved into wet noodles, unable to hold her up. As she plopped over on the table, the muscles in her mouth wired in place, with tongue grown heavy and swollen, and finally vision, which had begun to blur.

"My wife thought you were a hero," he started, as he sliced across her ankle and again across the outside of her leg. Unable to feel any pain, her only knowledge of the event was the quick hit of pressure and the sensation of warm blood seeping from her body. As the Jedi tried to scream, she found her tongue as numb-bound as if her mouth had stuffed with a medical rag. "My daughter thought you would be the one to finally end the terror of the First Order." Another slice whipped across her arm. "And while you were off gallivanting the galaxy with Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, we suffered _attack_ after _attack_ after _attack_ at the hands of the First Order." Each mention of the word resulted in another slice of the scalpel along her body.

Kylo Ren hadn't led an attack against the resistance in the entire time they were together. In fact, the Supreme Leader had often vetoed many of Hux's planned attacked against the rebels, under the guise that they needed to spare their men in anticipation of the battle against the Final Order. Whoever was attacking the resistance, probably that red-headed weasel, acted without the Supreme Leader's consent.

Squeezing her face in his hand so tight as to leave bruises with his fingerprints, the doctor turned her up to look into his eyes. The scalpel dragged slowly down her cheek as hot tears poured her hazel eyes. "There, now you can have a scar to match his. You're both nothing but filthy traitors."

Using the numbness to her advantage to quiet her mind, the Jedi tried to call out to Leia. Yet, it was Finn whom she sensed first. Since the fight in the forest, she had suspected that her friend also possessed the ability to wield the force and was so grateful in this moment that he did.

"My wife was killed by a Stormtrooper in one of their raids. My daughter died in the next attack. I lost my family because of you. They were willing to keep fighting because you gave them hope…_false_ hope! For some delusion that the kid they were fighting for would somehow bring down the First Order. But what did you do instead? You fucking _joined_ them!"

True to their word, both Finn and Poe bolted into the room almost instantly, but not before the sadistic surgeon shoved his scalpel right into the side of Rey's neck, causing her to let out an ear-piercing shriek, still unable to move off of the table. Poe tackled the man down quickly, and as he was being dragged out of the room, his words resounded in the scavenger girl's ears, "You're a fucking _traitor_! Do you even care how many people died because of you?!"

Looking at her back, Finn knew he had to pull the scalpel out, but that doing so might make her bleed out faster. He had only ever been a soldier and had no real medical training. Taking a deep breath, he warned his friend to brace herself as he tried to pull the blade out as straight as he could, resulting in the kind of piercing scream that would shatter glass. Rey's blood continued to gush from her body, and enough of her liquid life had gone that so to had her consciousness.

Poe declared (loudly) that she needed another physician, only to be told (loudly) by Finn that all the medical staff had died in yesterday's battle. The crazed physician that was just hauled off was the only one left. "What do we do?!" the pilot yelled, clearly panicked.

Through the doors, as quickly as her legs could carry, Leia made her way into the medical room, having sensed Rey's cry for help. The sight of that poor girl bleeding out on the table brought her hand catch the gasp escaping from her mouth. She had not yet seen Rey since her return to the base, for if the rumors were accurate, and Palpatine could turn her on and off like some droid-servant, then she couldn't risk being near the young Jedi, as much as she wanted to. For all of Leia's achievements in life, at her core, she was a mother. One who had lost a child to the dark side and was determined not to also lose this girl that she had grown to care for. Cradling Rey's head against her bosom, sensing the life force quickly leaving her body, the General felt the same anguish as the day she lost her son. "I won't lose you," she whispered.

Using the strength of the force, she reached out to what seemed like a void of blackness, hoping to find some trace of life. "Be with me. I need your help," Leia whispered. "She…needs your help."

In the image of her connection, the face of distrust and shock on Kylo Ren's face dissolved to panic at the sight of his mother holding a dying Rey in her arms. Forcing his quaking knees to allow him to stand, he took two steps, needing such strength as if there were iron in his boots. For all the levelheadedness Kylo Ren showed on the battlefield, such serenity abandoned him at that moment. Panic had begun building like an unstoppable snowball in the pit of his stomach. Unable to concentrate on anything else other than to get his leaded feet to move towards his dying love. With his heart beating harder and faster, adrenaline levels rising, his brain began to fire out those unimaginable thoughts faster than a First Order machine gun. Wrapping his arm next to his mothers', he cradled Rey's head and kissed her hair to feel that there was barely any life in her. The dark Jedi needed to swallow his anger, and calm himself, for it was no good to him to fume over how his feeling had been right nor to panic about the unthinkable.

Quickly pulling away both of his gloves, which stuck to his sweat-stricken palms, he could not seem to get them off fast enough, despite his cursing. Placing both on his beloved and allowed the energy from his body to close the wound in her neck. Leia had heard that force healing was possible but had never known any capable of the act until now. His life flowed into hers, his draining energy healing her wound. Kylo Ren would have given his entire life force for her had his mother not broken his concentration by placing her hand on his cheek. "Enough, Ben. She'll live. Any more, and you might not."

Through labored breath, he felt their connection fading. "I'm coming there. Tell me where you are."

"Rest, Ben. She will be okay, and so will you." Leia ended the connection, despite her son's shouts of protest, as if it were Leia herself taking Rey away from him. While the General had no desire to leave her son in such a state, the effort needed to connect with the force across such a distance required a level of stamina the aging Jedi simply no longer possessed.

* * *

Kylo Ren was slumped down on the couch in his quarters. Though he wanted to simply throw himself down on the bed, the 30 steps it would take to get over there at this point seemed insurmountable. The medical droids had patched him up as best they could following Palapatine's attack last week, but even they could not restore his energy. For that, only time would heal. And to have to exert such an amount into Rey so quickly after left him nothing short of exhausted. It had been nearly four hours since his connection with his mother had faded. And just in the moment that he had nearly drifted off to sleep, the soft whisper of his mother's voice filled his head.

"Ben,"

Ever silent, the Supreme Leader simply raised his brow, the look of concern on his face practically begging to know the condition his love was in. "Rey is going to be okay. You healed her worst wound, and we were able to close the others and get her blood. I may not be a medic, but in all of those years on the battlefield, you pick up on a few things."

"My scouts have been scanning the entire galaxy for the Falcon, and somehow you've managed to keep eluding us. Rey needs to be here with me. I thought perhaps she could sway the resistance given time, but I won't continue to risk her safety after what's happened."

"Do you know what happened?"

"I can guess. Jedi spends too much time with the First Order, and those in the resistance think she has turned to the dark side. They see her as a traitor when in reality, the whole reason why I haven't completely annihilated the lot of you was because _she_ begged me not to."

"I can tell that you care very much for her, as do I, as do many of us. Tell me what Palpatine has done to her, I have heard the rumors, but I need to know the truth. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't allowed her to see me yet, because I just don't know what I would be facing."

"Palpatine's connection to her is the strongest I have ever seen. He sleeps in the back of her mind and is able to emerge when she is angry or scared. In the beginning, I could calm her to the point where she could fight him off on her own. But in the last few weeks, something has changed. His hold on her is stronger than ever; so much so, that I can no longer break through it." The General tried to probe her son's mind's gently and was somewhat shocked that he allowed her to proceed undeflected. He had a plan, to travel to Exegol alone and finish off Palpatine himself while Rey was still with the resistance. But now, after the battle, with what little energy he had remaining zapped away, and of course his worry for Rey's safety, there was no chance he could make such a trip now. She felt something else as well, his love for the girl. It permeated his very essence as if they were connected in a way that Leia herself could not comprehend. What was most shocking was that the resentment in her son towards her and Han had faded away, and in that effort, Rey was to thank.

"Ben," she whispered, resting her hand over his. "Rey told me that you were the one who killed Snoke. That you fought by her side against the guards. Where once there was only anger, now I sense peace. You're still haunted by your crimes, but you've found comfort in Rey. I know that so long as the sith roam the galaxy, it is better for you to be behind the protection of the First Order, but after it is over,"

"Don't even say it, woman." He snapped.

"Please come home."

Groaning with frustration, he snapped, "Don't you understand that I can't. What would happen? If they didn't shoot met dead the moment I stepped within 100 klicks of you, they would throw me in a cell to rot! Even if I was completely in tune with the light, which I am not, for the record, that does not magically rectify all of my sins. I will never be a slave to a sith master again, but Ben Solo is _dead_, and he is _never_ coming home…_I_…can never come home." The dark Jedi turned his back, ashamed of the emotion he was feeling. He had fought for so long to convince everyone, even Rey, that Ben Solo was foolish, weak, and very much dead. Why then was this trace of him surfacing now?

Kissing the top of her son's head, she wrapped her arms around her child—his raw emotion expressed in silent weeping. In time, he would raise his own to hold her arms wrapped across his chest. "I've already forgiven you for everything," he whispered. "Please forgive me."

In those words, an immense weight lifted from Leia's shoulders. "Your father and I…we failed you because we were never able to make peace with Anakin. We saw him in you, and we feared the darkness in you the way we feared it in Darth Vader. I sent you away, hoping that Luke would stamp it out through training with the force. But that loss, the rejection, only cemented it deeper in you. And in our absence, Snoke lured a young lost boy down the path the dark side, knowing full well that there was no one around to stop him. I know the guilt you feel over killing Han, and I hope in time, you will learn to forgive yourself for it. Forgive, but never forget. Never forget that it was the love of a father who tried to save his son, the love of a mother who tried to spare him, and the love of a scavenger girl who came to rescue him. For whatever part Rey played in freeing your soul, I owe her a debt don't think could ever be repaid."

"We both do. And now I owe it to her to save her from Palpatine and let her mind be at peace."

"We both do." His mother repeated. "We are headed to Kijimi; Poe Dameron knows of someone there who might be able to remove the compliance disk from her spine. I hope the next time we speak, it will be face to face."

* * *

The eyes of the scavenger girl fluttered awake. She was still in the medical bay of the Falcon, but a different room than before. A shiny silver food tray sat unadorned on a bedside table, and with shaking hands, she dared hold it in front of her and peer into her reflection. Her entire neck was bandaged with a small medpack, and a black sterristrip originated at the bridge of her nose and ran the length of her cheek. Pulling gently away, the broken skin underneath revealed her scar. Rey froze when she saw the reflection, knuckles going white, clenching the edge of the tray. A long clean scar snaked down the right side of her face, an odd mixture of bright white and light pink. Slowly releasing one hand from the tray and lightly brushing down thewound, tracing the line slowly with the tips of her fingers. "Traitor" was the only word on her mind as she sent the cursed mirrored tray flying across the room. What would Kylo Ren say when he next laid eyes on her? The scavenger girl buried her face to shield from the shame washing over.

Ripping the MedTrace bracelet from her arm and the corseted medpack from her core, every machine started to beep wildly, and a quick push of her hand crushed the medical contraptions and sent another crashing into the wall. It was no surprise that all the noise quickly drew Finn's attention, for he had been continuously checking on his friend. Taking a look around the room, it was evident that his friend was having a tough time of it and was currently trying to rip a needle dispensing her pain medication out of her arm.

"Hey, hey, yo, Rey, stop it, stop!" he stammered, trying to keep the girl from doing even more harm to herself. "Come on, it's me, Finn, your friend! Talk to me, tell what's going on."

"He was right, you know. I am a traitor. I should have tried harder to convince Ren to come back to the resistance. I tried to convince myself that if he was redeemed in Leia's eyes, everything would be alright no matter how long we stayed behind the iron wall of the First Order. But it's never going to be alright, is it? There is no place for us. The First Order wants us both dead, the resistance wants us both dead, Palpatine wants us both dead, I mean what's left after that?"

"Your friends? Me, and Poe, and Chewie, and Leia. And, as one traitor to another, let me tell you, I saw good people in the First Order Rey, and I see good people in the resistance. But there are bad people on both sides too. The cause may be righteous, but that doesn't mean everyone who fights for it is. The medic was angry and hurt, and he blamed you for his loss. But you didn't kill his family; hell Kylo Ren didn't even kill his family! This was not on you, okay?"

"Thank you, Finn." She smiled, embracing her friend.

"Now, what can I do to make you feel better?"

"Make Ren magically appear."

"I know you told us that he's not really a sith lord anymore, but the guy still leads the First Order. You might need to give the rest of us some time to get used to the idea that you fell in love with someone I have only ever known to be a monster."

"He's haunted by what he's done."

"As he should be," Finn said, nodding along as if to agree with himself. "he killed countless millions. And yes, I know Snoke had control over him and all, but you don't just forgive a person for that kind of destruction. But," he said, holding Rey's hand, "when your friend is convinced that there is good in him, you try your best. Now, hold still, I want to try something." Placing his hand over Rey's scar, Finn closed his eyes and concentrated.

"What are you doing?" she asked jokingly.

"I'm healing your face. I watched Leia heal you in the operating room. If she can do it, so can I."

"Finn," she laughed. "It's a really difficult thing to do; it drains you like you wouldn't believe. Ren and I pass out almost every time we've had to heal one another."

"No, no, just you wait. I'll do it!"

Rey laughed, "Finn! It's fine, really. I'm sure Ren can do it the next time I see him."

"If you already know this, why are you so bothered by it?"

The smile dissolved from her face as her eyes glassed over, lost in thought. "Because it's the mark of a traitor. Who in the resistance is ever going to listen to me now? I'm the granddaughter of a sith lord, I'm in love with a man that the entire galaxy is convinced is a monster. And now, by the hand of the resistance, I bear the same scar I bestowed upon Kylo Ren, the mark of a traitor."

"Well then," he said, clapping his hands over Rey's. "You leave me no choice," and placing his hands back on her face and concentrated again—still nothing, of course. But the gesture itself brought a smile to Rey's face.

* * *

Kijimi was freezing cold – white puffs of snow crunched under Rey's boots as they snuck down back alleys, hiding their faces from citizens and stormtroopers alike. This was a cold not in the air but in the ground as the earth beneath sucked the life from their feet, leaving them numb rocks with no grace for walking.

While Rey had been ready to simply march through the city, knowing that no First Order troop would dare stop her, it was Poe who reminded that Kijimi was full of refugees and outlaws. If anyone saw that the First Order soldiers were giving her no trouble, she would be immediately pegged as a Supreme Leader's pawn and an enemy of Kijimi citizens.

Rey didn't quite understand why there was such a fuss about the soldiers anyway. The stormtroopers weren't doing anything but apparently keeping the peace. They hadn't attacked any shops or innocent persons as they would have done under Snoke's rule. The only people they were throwing in jail were spice runners or those stupid enough to start a fight in the streets. Of course, as rebels, they were still prime targets without any just cause.

Racing down a stairwell, the thinnest sheet of ice beneath the snow caught Finn off guard, and the man not only fell but slid down the remaining three stairs as well, knocking over a basket of bright red berries. The merchant shouted in some alien language, wacking Finn with a broom, while he apologized profusely, backed his team up the stairs and around a corner, and finally outran the merchant.

"I hope this friend of yours is close by. It's getting harder to avoid making a scene when there are so few people in the streets. Wonder why all these people are trying to close up their stalls and shutter their windows?"

"Also," Rey added, "My feet are freezing. I haven't felt my toes in ten minutes."

"Then wear thicker boots!" Poe retorted, peering around a corner, tired of his friends' griping. "Oh shit, we got company. There are bounty hunter vessels down the main square. Come on, we got to get ourselves hidden."

"What would bounty hunters want to do with us? I mean, the only people they go after here are spice runners who've jilted payments." Finn's words were met with a confession from his friend, as Poe admitted that maybe, before the war, just as a means of income, for a little while, he may, possibly, have been a spice runner.

'You were a spice runner?!" Rey asked.

"You were a scavenger."

"But you were a spice runner?" Finn followed.

"You were a freaking stormtrooper, don't give me any of that!"

"Yes, but scavenging was not illegal, and don't pick on Finn. He was enslaved; he didn't know what he was doing."

"Yeah!" Finn added, not quite realizing what message he was reinforcing.

"Look, both of you. We need to get to Zorri's place before we draw any more attention to ourselves. So you, stop slipping on the ice. And you, just quiet, please! The whole reason we are here to help you!"

As they waited in the shadows for two stormtroopers to pass on their rounds, Rey felt a familiar presence. Shaking it off as only her hopeful wishing, she knew that Kylo Ren could not be here on Kijimi. She had never told him where they were going, mostly because the scavenger girl didn't know herself until they landed. As much as she hated it, Kylo Ren had the right idea. Important information, such as their location or destinations, needed to be kept secret from the scavenger girl for fear that any knowledge in Rey's head was ripe for picking by the Emperor.

The snow began to fall out of the black sky, and the temperature of the already freezing cold planet began to drop further. Rey blew warm air into her hands, regretting not reaching for gloves that covered the tips of her fingers when they had departed from the Falcon.

_"Tell me where you are."_ Her beloved's voice echoed in her head. Glancing behind her down the alley, there was nothing except the remains of their footprints in the snow. "Ren?" It was like a whisper into the aether – not intended to be heard. Noticing her distraction, Finn nudged the Jedi's shoulder before they continued their run through the back alleys of the city. "Finn, if First Order officers were here, people would be panicked, right?"

"For sure. Rumors spread that Kylo Ren leaves no survivors when he attacks a place. If he showed up here, people would be running for their lives. Why?"

"It's probably just me being nervous. Come on, how much further?"

After nearly an hour of weaving about the town's streets, they arrived at a door, three steps below the street. Poe knocked in a rhythmic fashion, a coded rap known only to allies, and asked to speak to Zorri, claiming to be an old friend.

_"Rey,"_ she heard, a whisper in the night air. Pushing the edge of her hood back, the Jedi scanned the scape of the back street. The scavenger girl hoped to see the man behind the voice. Out of the corner of her eye, standing beneath a stone bridge, she saw him. He was not dressed as a Supreme Leader of the First Order. His black jackets and cloaks replaced with dark grays and browns. Her feet moved without hesitation, her head never stopped to think, but before either of her friends had glanced up, the Jedi was nearly halfway to her love.

The scavenger girl threw her arms around her dark Jedi while he took her face in his hands and, without any regard of who was watching, kissed her as if it had been weeks (instead of days) since he had last seen her. They both shared a smile, and resting his forehead on hers, Kylo Ren clouded Rey's face with the smoke of his warm breath, meeting the cold air. His thumb traced the black sterristrip bandage that ran down her face but stopped his fingers at her lips before kissing her again.

"I can't believe you're here." She whispered, her arms constricting around him as if they never planned to let him go again.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I should have come to you when you first asked. I know you are here to try this again, but I don't think it's wise. Rey, I'm so tired, I won't have the strength to heal you if something goes wrong."

As Rey looked back at her friends, Finn was waving them to come inside the now opened door, while Poe angrily asked, gestured, hit Finn's shoulder, and audibly asked what the hell he was doing.

"Then let's hope nothing does," Rey concluded, the red flush in her cheeks still glowing from their kiss.

As the dyad entered the apartment hand in hand, they were stopped by a rather large fellow who insisted on their blasters. While neither usually carried such a weapon, wielding lightsabers around the city would be a clear giveaway of their identities. Both had opted for the cover of a more common weapon. Though the supreme leader did have his saber tucked into a sling across his back, hidden beneath his sweater, just in case. Relinquishing them both, Zorri, her face concealed by a reflective mask of her own in a most regal shade of purple, asked for their names and their relation to her old cocky comrade. "I'm Rey – I've known Poe through the resistance for the past two years."

Poe and Finn awaited to hear what sort of lie Kylo Ren would tell and were kind of shocked to hear when what came out of his mouth was so close to the truth, no one could dare dispute it. "Ben," he answered. "My parents have been fighting in the resistance even before I was born."

Poe debated outing the identity of Kylo Ren right then and there. Surely between all the scoundrels, thieves, and murders in the room, they could easily take him out. Especially if he wasn't carrying his saber. And even if he was, that may help their situation, for any bystander in the streets would engage in an all-out assault against a member of the First Order, especially their leader. Besides, the man looked extraordinarily exhausted. Clearly, he hadn't yet recovered from the battle a few days prior. But, a quick glance from Rey, with a silent "don't" on her lips, told him what he feared. Poe believed that his friend was so taken with this monster that she would surely protest (or worst, retaliate against) any reasoning for why they should just off him right here and now. It would be so easy, a few quick blaster shots, and the leader of the First Order would be no more. Dealing such a blow to the First Order would obviously turn the war in their favor. Still, this wasn't the place. It seemed that if Poe really wanted Rey to see that monster for what he was, he would be forced to take the high ground for now.

Poe introduced Rey to Babu Frik, an Anzellan who specialized in electronic circuitry, but whose precision to work on microscopic scales was unparalleled. Kylo Ren protested immediately to the absurdity of the situation, even after Babu Frik explained that a human spine was just like a compound circuit cable, mostly, practically, it would be fine. His low annoyed growl was immediately silenced as Rey thanked the Anzellan for doing this, though it didn't stop the dark Jedi from smacking his brow in frustration. If Rey was determined to do this, again, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and trust her.

Zorri instructed Rey to remove her shirt and lay on her side atop the metal table while the Anzellan prepped his tools. Annoyed at Rey's shaking head of protest, the bounty hunter exclaimed, "do you want to do this or not?"

"Forgive me if I don't want to undress in front of a dozen prying eyes."

"Totally understandable," Poe replied. "You heard her, '_Ben,'_ get lost!"

"I wasn't talking about him." Rey snapped back.

Finn took the cue and tried to guide his protesting friend and several others into another room, claiming that the group was clearly in need of a drink and to share old stories.

"What? You taking _his_ side now?"

"I'm taking _Rey's_ side." Finn retorted and pushed his friend out the door. Glancing back at his friend, just to make sure she was okay, he saw a the softest smile on her face as she looked at Kylo Ren. He would still need time to see the dark Jedi as anything other than the leader of the First Order. But still, if he could ease his friend's anxiety over the surgery, then he could maybe earn a favorable point with Finn. Now Poe…he was going to be a challenge.

Zorri insisted on staying behind and threw Rey a blanket that she was able to hold in front of herself while leaving her back exposed.

After what had happened with the first surgery, Rey couldn't stop her hands from shaking at her nervousness, even though she was determined to be free of that wretched disk. Removing his gloves, Kylo Ren gently stoked his beautiful Jedi's forehead and let the girl clasp both of her hands around one of his own. He wanted to tell her that she didn't have to do this, that he still thought the whole thing was foolish. However, he understood why Rey was willing to take this risk, twice, to know that she could fight the sith unhindered. Opting instead for words of support, he whispered, "I'll be right here the whole time."

"Here." Zorri handed the dark Jedi a damp cloth. The smell of anesthesia was unmistakable. This really was a back-alley operation. "You two seem close enough; you can knock her out."

Rey's entire body was shaking now, both from the cold and her fear. He had always known Rey to brave, but to see her so terrified and yet determined to do this, he couldn't help but be moved. Asking if she was ready, he instructed her to take slow deep breaths as he pressed the cloth across the lower part of her face until her eyes gently closed and her body relaxed. Zorri pricked Rey's arm with a small needle, and showing no signs of a reaction, told Babu Frik that she was ready.

After the compliance disk had been removed, the Anzellan cauterized her wound and declared his work finished. Zorri helped the dark Jedi fit a medpack tightly around her core, instructing that she was not to move for at least four hours, and even then, it would be a few days before she was healed completely.

* * *

When Rey's eyes finally opened, the room itself seemed to spin until finally settling into focus on her love, asleep in a chair with arms folded across his chest. There was a throbbing in her low back and a pounding in her head, but a sigh of relief as the scavenger girl managed to wiggle her toes back and forth. She wasn't paralyzed.

Sitting up was a slow and painful process, but the tightness of the medpack helped. "Ren," she whispered, gently rubbing his shoulder. Shooting awake almost instantly, he pushed Rey back down insisting that the girl not move in his attempt to help her avoid any additional injury.

"Is there somewhere else? Somewhere we can lay down together?"

Against the back wall of the room was a makeshift bed of sorts. A pile of blankets tucked into a cutout in the wall. It was really only intended for one, but never had either minded having to snuggle so close. Carrying her to the bed, her face gave away her pain as he tried to set her down as gently as possible, all the while clutching the blanket across her chest. Messing with the buttons on the side of the medpack, Kylo Ren upped Rey's dosage of pain suppresents in the hopes that it would help her rest.

After killing the lights and hearing a metallic crash followed by a slew of the most colorful curses, the dark Jedi managed to find his way back to the makeshift bed. Opting to face his love, he rested a hand on the warm skin of her back, often lacing his fingers beneath the band that kept her breasts secured in place. A constriction she had quickly asked him to remove, for she was uncomfortable enough with the medpack fitted around her core; she didn't need her chest bound as well. All too happy to oblige, a simple snap of his fingers released her breasts and allowed his hand to gently stroke down her back. It was reminiscent of the mornings when her dark Jedi would glide his hands beneath her shirt along her back or core, whispering that he did not want to get up for the day because she was so soft and warm.

Her fingers had found their way beneath the bottom of his sweater, and yet her touches were barred from his core by a shirt underneath. Tugging at the fabric until it pulled free from the waist of his pants, the scavenger girl rested the pads of her fingers on his skin.

"What are you doing?" he questioned with a soft smile across his face.

"I just wanted to touch you. See that you are real. I still can't believe you're here."

Taking her chin into his hand, he kissed her passionately and parted her lips with his tongue before exploring her mouth. Gliding down her neck, he stopped at her chest, wanting so much to simply continue downward but her tight gripped fist at the top of the blanket prevented any further movement. Despite having been together for nearly a year, he had never seen, let alone touched, her breasts. Though, he imagined them to be tender, soft mounds worthy of all of his affection. Still, this was hardly the time to even suggest such a thing, given that his beautiful Jedi was mere hours post-surgery.

Opting instead for her shoulders, his trail of sweet pecks continued to her neck before he was in the position to nuzzle her ear. He hadn't even noticed that she managed to free the entire front of his shirt from the waist of his pants until her wandering hand, lead by delicious fingertips, had found their way to one of his nipples. A swift inhale through his nose let her know that she had indeed come upon a tender spot.

"I hope this okay." She whispered, almost as if admitting to a mistake, retracting her hand back to his core. "You always ask, and I didn't even think to."

Clutching her hand through the fabric of his sweater, he confessed that Rey was always free to touch him anywhere she wanted in the privacy of their shared bed. Continuing to massage his nipple with the tip of her middle finger, the scavenger girl released her hold on the top of the blanket to run through his thick locks of black hair.

"I want to kiss you here," she confessed, gently tapping on his chest. Without hesitation, Kylo Ren sat up and cast his shirt to the floor before laying back in the bed, scooting himself just higher than Rey so that she wouldn't have to bend her neck too much to fulfill her intention. A long deep sigh escaped his lips as Rey's found their way to his chest. The lightest suckle on his nipple, a flick of her tongue, it was all too delicious.

Rey had forgotten to hold her blanket up; in the darkness, he could just make out the shape of her. The feel the softness of her breast against his skin, practically begging for his touch. Again, tonight was not the night for such passion. Even though Rey had instigated such play, she too was succumbing to her own exhaustion. Caressing her side with this thumb and her lips with his own, the dark Jedi professed his love to the scavenger girl once more, as he had often done during their most intimate moments.

After a few gentle strokes on her cheek and a shared set of ever wider yawns, Kylo Ren pulled the blanket up to cover them both as Rey asked her beloved to hold her while she slept. The harmonic cadence of their breaths drowning out the chaos of the galaxy.


End file.
